Who Pays Real Estate Agent Commission When You Sell?

For decades the answer was simple: the seller paid one commission, historically 5% to 6% of the sale price, and the listing brokerage split it with the buyer's brokerage. The buyer appeared to pay nothing, because the cost was embedded in the price and settled out of the seller's proceeds.

That single-number model is what most sellers still expect when they sit down at a listing appointment.

Following the 2024 NAR settlement, offers of buyer-agent compensation can no longer be advertised on the MLS, and buyers must sign a written agreement with their agent stating how that agent gets paid.

In practice the seller often still contributes toward buyer-agent compensation, but it is now negotiated separately and disclosed as its own line — closer to a concession than an automatic split. Sellers should enter the listing-side rate and any buyer-side contribution as two distinct numbers.

A commission does not go to the agent. It goes to the brokerage, which then splits with the agent under their agreement — commonly anywhere from 50/50 for newer agents to 90/10 or a flat-fee cap for high producers. Team leaders, referral sources, and franchise fees take a cut before the agent sees anything.

That matters when negotiating: the agent's take-home on a 2.5% listing side is a fraction of the headline number.

Commission is negotiable and always has been. The leverage points are price band, expected days on market, whether the seller is also buying with the same agent, and whether the listing includes full marketing services or a reduced package.

Be explicit about what changes at a lower rate — photography, staging budget, paid promotion — instead of negotiating the number in isolation.

Commission is nearly always the largest single closing cost. On a $600,000 sale, each half percentage point is $3,000. Model the actual contracted rates in your net sheet rather than an assumed 6%, and compare offers with buyer-side contributions folded in.