Real Estate Commissions After the Settlement: How It Actually Works Now

The quick answer

Three changes matter. One: if you’re a buyer working with an agent, you sign a written buyer agreement before touring that states your agent’s fee and who pays it — that number is yours to negotiate, and the agreement can be as narrow as one house or one week. Two: sellers no longer advertise buyer-agent compensation through the MLS — but they can still agree to pay it as a negotiated concession in the offer, and in the current buyer-leaning market they frequently do. Three: nothing is “standard” — no rate ever legally was, and now no association may even suggest one. The practical effect: both sides negotiate fees in writing, up front, which rewards people who ask direct questions.

If you’re buying

Before signing any buyer agreement, get three things in writing: the fee (flat or percentage), exactly what happens if the seller won’t cover it (do you pay the gap at closing, or does the offer get structured to fund it?), and the term — a good agent will accept a short initial term and earn the extension. When you offer on a house, buyer-agent compensation becomes one more negotiated line alongside price, repairs, and closing costs; in a market with recorded price declines in 13 of 14 large counties, that line has been getting agreed to. Budget as if you might fund it, negotiate so you don’t.

If you’re selling

You negotiate your listing fee in the listing agreement — and separately decide, offer by offer, whether covering some or all of a buyer’s agent fee gets you a better net. That’s arithmetic, not principle: a $10,000 concession that produces a $15,000-better contract wins. The full cost-to-sell stack (doc stamps, title, prorations) sits alongside whatever you negotiate here, and the market data tells you how much leverage each side is holding in your county.