Happy November, Everyone!
As a home seller or buyer, you have many choices when listing your home or buying another property. Agents who are REALTORS® are a trusted source of advice and stand ready to help you navigate this complex process and make the choices that work best for you. NAR's recent settlement has led to several changes related to broker compensation that benefit sellers and buyers, and we wanted to lay them out for you.
HOME SELLERS:
Here is what the settlement means for home sellers:
You still have the choice of offering compensation to buyer brokers. Do this to market your home or make your listing more attractive to buyers.
Your agent must conspicuously disclose to you and obtain your approval for any payment or offer of payment that a listing broker will make to another broker acting for buyers.
This disclosure must be made to you in writing before any payment or agreement to pay another broker acting for buyers and must specify the amount or rate of such payment.
If you choose to approve an offer of compensation, there are changes to how this can happen.
You, as the seller, can still make an offer for compensation. However, your agent cannot include it on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). MLSs are local marketplace buyers and listing brokers that are used to share information about properties for sale.
Your agent can advertise your listing via off-MLS platforms such as social media, flyers, and websites.
As the seller, you can still offer buyer concessions on an MLS (for example, concessions for buyer closing costs).
HOMEBUYERS:
Here is what the settlement means for homebuyers:
You will sign a written agreement with your agent before touring a home.
Before signing this agreement, you should ensure it reflects the terms you negotiated with your agent and that you understand precisely what services and value will be provided and how much.
The buyer agreement must include four components concerning compensation:
A specific and conspicuous disclosure of the amount or rate of compensation the real estate agent will receive or how this amount will be determined.
Objective compensation (e.g., $0, X flat fee, X percent, X hourly rate)—and not open-ended (e.g., cannot be "buyer broker compensation shall be whatever the amount the seller is offering to the buyer").
A term that prohibits the agent from receiving compensation for brokerage services from any source that exceeds the amount or rate agreed to in the agreement with the buyer; and,
A conspicuous statement that broker fees and commissions are entirely negotiable and not set by law.
Written agreements apply to both in-person and live virtual home tours.
You do not need a written agreement if you are speaking to an agent at
An open house or asking them about their services.
The seller may agree to compensate your agent. This practice is permitted, but the offer cannot be shared on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). MLSs are local marketplace buyers and listing brokers that are used to share information about properties for sale.
Note: The above information is the current industry changes for America, California, and California real estate in Southern California. Changes can still happen.
New and coming changes and new template real estate documents constantly change, so it's best to stay updated with any new industry changes in 2025. Please call me anytime for a 45-minute consultation on how this affects you as a seller, a buyer, or both.
