Why should home sellers offer buyer broker compensation?
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- A Quick History of Buyer Broker Compensation
- The 2024 NAR Settlement: What Changed?
- Is It Illegal to Ignore the NAR Settlement?
- Why Sellers Should Still Offer Buyer Broker Compensation
- Broader Buyer Pool
- Potentially Higher Offers
- Faster Sales
- Professional Representation
- Competitive Advantage
- Broader Buyer Pool
- What Happens If a Seller Offers Full, Partial, or No Compensation?
- What People Say
- Final Thoughts
- FAQs
Key Takeaways
- The 2024 NAR settlement means sellers don't have to offer compensation to a buyer's agent anymore.
- But offering it is still a very smart choice for sellers.
- It helps buyers afford homes, which can lead to better and faster offers.
- Buyers' agents are professionals who bring value—like helping avoid bidding wars!
- Agents are more likely to show your home if they know they’ll be compensated.
Introduction
If you’re selling your home, there’s something really important you should think about: Should you offer money to pay the buyer’s agent?
This is called Buyer Broker Compensation, and while the rules have changed recently, the benefits of offering it have not.
Let’s break it all down in simple words so you can understand what it means, what changed, and why offering it can help your home sell faster and for more money.
A Quick History of Buyer Broker Compensation
In the past, when someone wanted to buy a home, their real estate agent would help them. That agent would get paid a fee, at usually around 5-6% commission, and this is split between the buyer and seller agents.
However, that commission usually comes from the seller of the house or listed property.
Why? Because buyers already need to pay for their home, the down payment, closing costs, inspections, and more. So if they also had to pay their agent out of pocket, it would be way too expensive.
This has been the setup or arrangement before there was a change in how the commissions are supposed to be paid because of the recent NAR settlement. Sellers usually agreed to pay this fee so more people could afford to buy their house.
The 2024 NAR Settlement: What Changed?
In 2024, changes happened with regard to how the commission is given and who gives it. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) made a new agreement called a settlement. It changed the way agents and brokers handle commissions.
Now, because of this settlement, the sellers are no longer required to offer payment to the buyer’s agent. It’s totally optional.
Some sellers might think, “Yay! One less thing to pay for.” But no, there’s more to this story and how it actually benefits both the seller and the buyer.
You can now sell your home without promising to pay the buyer’s agent.
But just because it’s not required doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to skip it.
Is It Illegal to Ignore the NAR Settlement?
This is a very important question that many sellers and agents are asking, and let’s be clear: It is not illegal to offer buyer broker compensation through the MLS or Multiple Listing Service. What’s illegal is pretending all buyers must work under the old rules or hiding commission information.
So yes, you can still offer it. You just have to follow the new guidelines, and everything has to be clear and honest because there are still rules and corresponding disciplinary actions, and the worst would be licence violations.
The real estate market is built on trust and cooperation; that is why the commission details must be disclosed. Hence, the NAR settlement encourages our focus on transparency, written agreements, and fair choices.
Why Sellers Should Still Offer Buyer Broker Compensation
Even though you don’t have to, here are 5 big reasons why offering it is still a great idea for sellers like you:
1. Broader Buyer Pool
Imagine you're selling cookies at a bake sale. If you make the cookies free, everyone will take one! But if people have to pay $5 each, fewer people will even look at them.
It’s the same with homes. When buyers don’t have to worry about paying their agent, more of them will want to come see your house.
And many buyers simply can’t afford to pay their agent out of pocket. If they know you’re covering it, they’re more likely to make an offer.
2. Potentially Higher Offers
When buyers have to pay their agent, they’ll try to save money somewhere else, like offering you less.
But if you're covering that cost, buyers might offer a higher price, because they don't have to worry about adding the commission to their bill.
That could mean more money for you in the end!
3. Faster Sales
Homes that get more attention and more offers usually sell faster.
When you remove the extra cost for buyers, you also remove a big barrier. That means buyers can move more quickly and confidently, and your home might sell sooner.
4. Professional Representation
When buyers are working with good agents, everything just goes smoother.
Agents help with paperwork, inspections, deadlines, and negotiating. They make sure the buyer is serious and ready. If you offer compensation, it’s more likely that a buyer will have professional help which makes your job easier too.
Redditor said:
“A guy who actually knows the market and the players is well worth what he is paid.”
5. Competitive Advantage
In today’s real estate world, buyers have lots of choices. If two homes are similar but one includes buyer broker compensation and the other doesn’t, which one do you think agents will show more often?
Basically, the one that pays.
“Our realtor brought us an off-market deal to avoid bidding wars,” said one Reddit user. “She earned every penny.”
When your home is easy for agents to show and buyers to afford, it stands out and gets sold.
What Happens If a Seller Offers Full, Partial, or No Compensation?
Let’s look at the 3 choices you now have:
- Full Compensation
When you agree to pay the buyer’s agent commission, more buyers will likely take a look at your home, making it easier and smoother since they know they won’t be paying the buyer broker’s compensation, which is a burden, especially to those who are just first-time homebuyers. In the minds of the buyers, your property will seem cheaper and more desirable.
- Partial Compensation
Sellers are prohibited from displaying compensation offers on the MLS because of the NAR 2024 settlement, it still doesn’t prevent sellers from having the compensation in partial agreement. That is, if it is fair for both parties.
So yes, you can still offer partial compensation, especially if it is outside of the MLS.
- No Compensation
The NAR settlement doesn’t require sellers to offer compensation, but it also doesn’t stop buyers from agreeing to pay their agent separately. This is handled through a written agreement between the buyer and their broker, not through the seller.
As someone on Reddit said:
“No buyer agent—or anyone else—can work for free.”
And another added:
“If the buyer can’t pay the agent, they just won’t make an offer. Or they’ll subtract it from their best offer price.”
What People Say
These are real account of people across the internet regarding the new arrangement of how compensation is supposed to go from here on out.
“Our agent knew the right people. She found us a house before it even hit the market. That saved us a lot of stress—and money!”
“We wouldn’t have made an offer if we had to pay our agent ourselves. We couldn’t afford it.”
These stories show how valuable buyer agents can be and why paying their commission helps everyone win.
Final Thoughts
So, in short:
- It is legal to offer buyer broker compensation
- It is illegal to ignore or break the new rules from the NAR settlement
- All commission conversations and agreements must now be honest, written, and separate from the MLS
At RE/MAX Lakes Realty, we believe this is the smart, fair, and effective way to sell a home in today’s market.
FAQs
Q: What did the 2024 NAR settlement actually change?
A: It made it optional for sellers to pay the buyer’s agent, and it banned rules that required commissions to be posted on the MLS.
Q: Is it illegal to offer buyer broker compensation now?
A: No, it’s totally legal—you just can’t make it mandatory through MLS rules.
Q: What if I don’t offer any buyer broker compensation?
A: You might scare off buyers, or get lower offers since buyers will need to cover the cost themselves.
Q: Can buyers finance their agent’s commission?
A: Yes! That’s one of the biggest advantages of sellers paying it—it can be included in the mortgage.
Q: Do agents really bring that much value?
A: Absolutely! They know the market, negotiate better deals, and often find homes before they go public.
