Buyer's agent commission after the NAR settlement

The changes come from NAR's settlement of class-action claims by home sellers over broker commissions. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri granted final approval on November 26, 2024. NAR says the practice changes went into effect on August 17, 2024. NAR groups them into two categories.

• No offers of compensation on the MLS. An offer of compensation is when a seller or listing broker agrees to pay the buyer's broker. These can no longer be shared on an MLS. According to NAR's FAQs, an MLS can't even have a yes/no compensation field. A listing brokerage can still show offers for its own listings on its own website.
• Written buyer agreements. A buyer working with an MLS participant must sign a written agreement before touring a home, in person or by live video. The agreement must state the amount or rate of the agent's pay in a way that is objective and not open-ended. It must bar the agent from receiving more than that amount from any source, and it must say fees are fully negotiable and not set by law.

For sellers there's also a disclosure step. Your listing agent must disclose in writing, in advance, and get your approval for any payment the listing broker will make to a buyer's broker, including the amount or rate.

• You can still pay the buyer's agent. NAR's consumer FAQ says sellers "still have the choice of offering compensation to buyer agents," as long as the offer is made off the MLS.
• Buyers can still ask. A buyer can ask the seller to pay their agent as a term of the offer. NAR's FAQs say a REALTOR® can't hold back a buyer's offer while negotiating that point.
• Concessions are still allowed, including on the MLS. You can offer money toward the buyer's closing costs. If a concession goes on the MLS, it must be the total of all concessions and can't be conditioned on the use of, or payment to, a buyer's agent.
• Commissions are still negotiable. Nothing in law sets a rate, and REALTORS® working with sellers must now say so in writing.

The settlement didn't abolish commissions, set new rates or bar sellers from paying buyer agents. It changed where offers can be communicated and put the buyer's agreement with their own agent in writing.

Utah's state-approved Real Estate Purchase Contract, effective December 4, 2024, has a line for this in Section 4.3(e), Real Estate Brokerage Compensation. You can agree to contribute a percentage of the purchase price or a dollar amount to the buyer's brokerage, called the "Seller's Compensation Contribution." If no amount is entered, you haven't agreed to pay under the REPC.

That payment is on top of anything your own listing brokerage has agreed to pay the buyer's brokerage. The buyer also agrees that the combined total from you and your listing brokerage won't exceed what the buyer owes their agent under their written buyer-broker agreement. You can accept, counter or decline a requested contribution like any other term of the offer.

Here's a hypothetical example. On a $450,000 sale, a 2% Seller's Compensation Contribution is $9,000, deducted from your proceeds at closing along with your own listing fee. If the buyer's agreement with their agent caps the agent's pay at $8,000, the combined payment can't go above $8,000. Offering more wouldn't help the buyer's agent. Ask what the buyer's agreement allows before you counter.

Idaho law already required written buyer representation agreements that state the buyer's financial obligations, including fees or commissions, and how the broker will be paid (Idaho Code § 54-2050(2)). The settlement adds the national MLS rules on top. Offers of compensation can't go on the Idaho MLSs covered by the settlement, and buyers working with MLS participants sign a written agreement before touring.

If you're selling through a flat-fee MLS listing, decide in advance what you'll say when a buyer's agent asks about compensation. You might offer an amount off the MLS, consider it as part of each offer, or decline. Get whatever you agree to in writing in the purchase agreement. Idaho's REALTORS® purchase agreement forms are member-only, so ask your broker to show you where compensation is addressed in the version you'll use.

• Know the trade-off. NAR's view is that offering compensation can widen your buyer pool, because some buyers can't also pay their agent out of pocket. Not offering keeps the money but may push that cost onto offers, for example as a request for a concession or a lower price.
• Look at what buyers are asking for. Ask your agent, or a title company if you're selling on your own, what recent offers near you have requested. Treat it as local information, not a rule.
• Choose a form. A percentage, a flat dollar amount, a concession toward the buyer's closing costs, or nothing. A concession is money for the buyer's costs, not a payment to the agent, and lender limits on concessions may apply.
• Decide before you list, and be consistent. Answer every buyer's agent the same way and put any agreement in the purchase contract.
• Run the numbers. Use /selling-costs/commission-calculator/ to see what a given rate costs at your price, and /selling-costs/ for the rest of your closing costs.

This page summarizes the NAR settlement practice changes and Utah and Idaho forms and statutes as of 2026. It isn't legal advice. Read your listing agreement and purchase contract, and consult a real estate attorney about your situation.