Buyers Still Expect Sellers To Pay for Agent Commissions Despite Changes to NAR Rules: Survey

US-ECONOMY-REAL-ESTATE-RATE-INFLATION — (Photo : (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)) Prospective home buyers visit a home for sale during an Open House in a neighborhood in Clarksburg, Maryland on September 3, 2023. Homeownership feels increasingly out of reach for younger generations of Americans, who are squeezed by student debt and childcare costs in an era of slower economic growth. The pressures come as President Joe Biden struggles to tackle negative sentiment about his handling of the economy, as he campaigns for re-election.

A majority of home buyers are still expecting sellers to pay for their agent's commission despite recent changes in real estate rules, a survey found.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) imposed changes to its business practice in early August as part of a commission lawsuit settlement. Sellers were no longer required to cover the buyer agent's commission after a transaction. Instead, the buyer and their agent would now be required to create a written agreement that outlined agreed-upon terms, including how much the agent will be paid for their services and whether their commission will be a percentage of the home price or a flat fee.

Despite these changes, however, 83% of agents said their buyers still expected sellers to cover their commissions fully. At least 10% of agents said their buyers expect sellers to cover at least a portion of the commissions, per a survey from The Real Brokerage.

The survey collected responses from 300 agents in North America between Aug. 30 and Sept. 15.

How Many Sellers Cover Buyer Agent's Fees?

While sellers are no longer required to cover the commission of buyer agents, 63% still "frequently" offered to pay for the fees, while 21% "occasionally" offered to cover the commissions.

By region, sellers in the Midwest were most likely to cover the fees (67%). This compared to 64% of sellers in the South, 60% in the West, and 59% in the Northeast.

Are Agents Earning Less Now?

The NAR commission lawsuit accused the organization of artificially inflating the commissions of its agents. Despite those concerns, 55% of agents reported that sellers who offered to pay for their commissions covered fees of 2.5% or greater. On the other hand, 30% of sellers offered commissions below 2.5%, while 1% switched to a flat fee model.

Less than half (49%) of agents are expecting to earn commissions equal to 2.6% to 3.0% of the price of the home being sold, especially after the NAR rule changes. Before the rule adjustments, 57% of agents expected to earn commissions within that range.