A big Realtors settlement could have led to lower agent commissions. They haven't.

"Itakura found that not much had changed. Two buyers made offers, both asking that he cover their agent's fee. One wanted 2.5%, the other 3%. Itakura knew he could say no - but he also knew the buyers could walk. "There's a convention that's been in place for a long time," Itakura said. "The more you try to buck against that standard, the more potential problems you create for yourself.""

"Across the country, sellers like Itakura are discovering that while the settlement changed the rules on paper, the practice of sellers paying commissions remains the same - and so have the fees. Nationwide, the average buyer's agent commission in the second quarter of 2025 was 2.43 percent, according to Redfin - almost identical to a year earlier, before the rule change. On a median-priced Bay Area home of $1.3 million, that's about $31,600 going to the buyer's agent."

"In the past, a buyer didn't have to sign a contract with their agent - in fact, they may have been oblivious to their agent's fee, given that the seller typically paid. The practice was enforced by an NAR rule that required a seller to communicate their commission split to the buyer's agent for any listing uploaded to the NAR-affiliated multiple listing services, or MLS, the private databases where agents can see homes for sale."

When a seller listed a Mountain View condo after a landmark settlement rewrote how agents' fees are set, buyers still sought seller-paid commissions. Buyers submitted offers requesting seller payment of buyer-agent fees, including proposals of 2.5% and 3%, and sellers often accept to avoid losing offers. Nationwide average buyer-agent commission in Q2 2025 remained about 2.43%, nearly unchanged from before the rule change, translating to roughly $31,600 to the buyer's agent on a $1.3 million Bay Area home. Historically, sellers were required to disclose commission splits on MLS, a practice challenged in a 2019 lawsuit.

Read at The Mercury News