SC realtors closed 7,178 transactions in October 2024. From the moment a contract was signed to the day agents got paid, they waited an average of 67 days (DTC — Days to Close). That is +4.7% versus October 2023. Every transaction represents commission earned but sitting unpaid — and the longer that wait, the bigger the cash flow gap for SC realtors.
October is SC's fall market — buyers active before the winter slowdown. October 2024 closings rose 7.0% year-over-year. But DTC came in at 67 days — 4.7% longer than October 2023. A busier market with longer waits. The fall 2024 cash flow gap was wider than the previous year.
Contract-to-close times vary dramatically across South Carolina. The same state, the same month — but agents in different regions wait vastly different amounts of time for the same commission check.
| Region | DTC — October 2024 | vs Statewide avg | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piedmont Regional | 41 days | 26 days faster | +24.2% |
| Charleston Trident | 44 days | 23 days faster | +57.1% |
| Greater Columbia | 44 days | 23 days faster | +12.8% |
| Spartanburg | 47 days | 20 days faster | +67.9% |
| Greater Greenville | 54 days | 13 days faster | +38.5% |
| Pee Dee | 60 days | 7 days faster | -40.6% |
| Hilton Head Area | 61 days | 6 days faster | -61.9% |
| Sumter/Clarendon County | 64 days | near avg | -5.9% |
| Western Upstate | 65 days | near avg | +8.3% |
| Central Carolina | 65 days | near avg | -47.2% |
| Greenwood | 90 days | 23 days slower | +3.4% |
| Cherokee County | 98 days | 31 days slower | +22.5% |
| Aiken | 102 days | 35 days slower | +50.0% |
| Greater Augusta | 106 days | 39 days slower | +12.8% |
| Beaufort | 118 days | 51 days slower | +13.5% |
| Coastal Carolinas | 120 days | 53 days slower | +7.1% |
Multiply the number of October 2024 closings by the average DTC and you get a picture of how much earned but unpaid commission is sitting in the SC pipeline at any given moment. In October 2024 that number reached 480,926 agent-days of unpaid commission statewide. Every SC realtor with an open contract is carrying their share of this backlog — and the only way to close the gap before closing day is a commission advance.
The SC median home price in October 2024 was $339,803 (+3.2% from last year). At a 3% commission rate that is approximately $10,194 per transaction. That check is sitting unpaid for an average of 67 days (DTC) from contract signing. As both prices and DTC continue to move, the dollar amount of commission sitting unpaid per agent changes every month.