SC realtors closed 8,053 transactions in August 2024. From the moment a contract was signed to the day agents got paid, they waited an average of 59 days (DTC — Days to Close). That is +1.7% versus August 2023. Every transaction represents commission earned but sitting unpaid — and the longer that wait, the bigger the cash flow gap for SC realtors.
August is when SC's summer market begins to ease. Closings held flat year-over-year. DTC came in at 59 days — essentially matching August 2023. The market was in equilibrium heading into fall 2024, though prices continued rising — meaning commission checks were larger even as timelines held steady.
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 — August 2024 | vs Statewide avg | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piedmont Regional | 35 days | 24 days faster | +6.1% |
| Spartanburg | 37 days | 22 days faster | +32.1% |
| Charleston Trident | 38 days | 21 days faster | +35.7% |
| Greater Columbia | 40 days | 19 days faster | +2.6% |
| Greater Greenville | 45 days | 14 days faster | +15.4% |
| Hilton Head Area | 45 days | 14 days faster | -71.9% |
| Pee Dee | 51 days | 8 days faster | -49.5% |
| Sumter/Clarendon County | 55 days | near avg | -19.1% |
| Cherokee County | 59 days | near avg | -26.3% |
| Western Upstate | 64 days | 5 days slower | +6.7% |
| Aiken | 69 days | 10 days slower | +1.5% |
| Central Carolina | 80 days | 21 days slower | -35.0% |
| Beaufort | 97 days | 38 days slower | -6.7% |
| Greenwood | 99 days | 40 days slower | +13.8% |
| Greater Augusta | 99 days | 40 days slower | +5.3% |
| Coastal Carolinas | 115 days | 56 days slower | +2.7% |
Multiply the number of August 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 August 2024 that number reached 475,127 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 August 2024 was $336,900 (+2.6% from last year). At a 3% commission rate that is approximately $10,107 per transaction. That check is sitting unpaid for an average of 59 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.