Who pays the real estate agent — and what changed in 2024?
Commissions are negotiable and always have been. Since August 2024, buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes, and agent pay is no longer advertised on the MLS. Sellers can still offer to cover the buyer's agent — often around 2%–3% — but it's negotiated deal by deal.
This changed in a way worth understanding. After a national settlement involving the National Association of REALTORS®, two things took effect in August 2024.
First, before an agent shows you homes, you and the agent sign a written agreement that spells out the services and how the agent is paid. Second, offers of pay to a buyer's agent are no longer advertised on the MLS.
What didn't change: commissions have always been negotiable, and sellers can still choose to cover the buyer's agent's fee — commonly in the 2%–3% range — often as a credit handled in the purchase contract. Nothing requires a seller to pay it, so it's negotiated on each deal.
For financed buyers, having the seller cover that fee can help, since it keeps cash in your pocket at closing. When we work together, I'll walk you through exactly how my compensation works — in writing and in plain language — before you ever tour a home.
This answer is general education, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Your situation is unique — let's talk through the specifics together.