SC realtors closed 8,418 transactions in July 2025. More deals closed. More commissions earned. But from the moment a contract was signed to the day agents got paid, they waited an average of 68 days (DTC — Days to Close). That is 15.3% longer than July 2024. The market remains active and the wait is getting longer. More money earned means more money sitting unpaid for longer.
July 2023 statewide DTC was 58 days. July 2024 came in at 59 days. July 2025 landed at 68 days. Three consecutive years, three consecutive increases. The trend is structural, not seasonal.
July is the heart of SC's summer selling season. Closings rose 2.7% in July 2025. But DTC jumped to 68 days — 15.3% longer than July 2024. A double-digit year-over-year increase during summer peak signals the cash flow gap is widening structurally.
Contract-to-close times vary dramatically across South Carolina. The same state, the same month — but a Hilton Head agent waits more than 2.5 times longer than a Charleston agent to receive the same commission check.
| Region | DTC — July 2025 | vs Statewide avg | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spartanburg | 42 days | 26 days faster | +27.3% |
| Greater Columbia | 44 days | 24 days faster | 0.0% |
| Charleston Trident | 45 days | 23 days faster | +25.0% |
| Piedmont Regional | 45 days | 23 days faster | +18.4% |
| Greater Greenville | 48 days | 20 days faster | +20.0% |
| Pee Dee | 58 days | 10 days faster | +28.9% |
| Sumter/Clarendon County | 60 days | 8 days faster | +5.3% |
| Western Upstate | 64 days | near avg | +3.2% |
| Central Carolina | 84 days | 16 days slower | -4.5% |
| Hilton Head Area | 95 days | 27 days slower | +82.7% |
| Greater Augusta | 97 days | 29 days slower | +1.0% |
| Cherokee County | 100 days | 32 days slower | +51.5% |
| Greenwood | 102 days | 34 days slower | +12.1% |
| Aiken | 108 days | 40 days slower | +11.3% |
| Beaufort | 117 days | 49 days slower | +14.7% |
| Coastal Carolinas | 126 days | 58 days slower | +9.6% |
The July 2025 Days to Close figure is part of a multi-year pattern across South Carolina. July 2023 the statewide average was 58 days. By July 2024 it had risen to 59 days. July 2025 came in at 68 days. That is 10 more days of unpaid commission per transaction than two years ago — with no sign of reversal.
Multiply the number of July 2025 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 July 2025 that number reached 572,424 agent-days of unpaid commission statewide. The busier the market and the longer contracts take to close, the bigger that number grows.
The SC median home price in July 2025 was $350,000 (+2.9% from last year). At a 3% commission rate that is approximately $10,500 per transaction. That check is sitting unpaid for an average of 68 days (DTC) from contract signing. As both prices and DTC continue to move, the dollar amount sitting unpaid per agent changes every month.