The Full Story on Buyer's Agent Commissions in 2026

By Jacqueline Smith

Jacqueline Smith is dedicated to serving the vibrant Vancouver/Portland real estate market. Since stepping into the industry in 2014, I hit the ground running selling 52 homes in my first year and now have my hand in selling over 1700 properties.

If the last time you bought or sold a home was more than a couple of years ago, some things have absolutely changed. And if you heard something back in 2024 about commission rules and just kind of moved on, you probably only have half the story.

Today, we want to clear some things up because a lot of people are still running off the headline version and don’t have the complete picture of how it’s actually playing out.

A quick refresher on what started all of this. Back in 2024, there was a big lawsuit involving the National Association of Realtors, and it was everywhere. It was all over the news and all over social media.

Buyers were kind of panicking, thinking they’d have to pay out of pocket for their agent. Sellers got really excited because they thought they would save thousands of dollars. Then everyone kind of just stopped following the story.

We’re a couple of years into this now, and the reality is more nuanced than what most people walked away with. Here’s what we’ve seen actually play out.

What has actually changed? The old system had the buyer’s agent commission baked right into the listing agreement, and it was advertised in the MLS to agents. The public couldn’t see it, but as agents, we could see for every listing what the buyer’s agent commission was that was being offered.

That went away. Now there’s no way to advertise in the MLS what a seller may or may not be offering for a buyer’s agent commission. Instead, we pick up the phone and call each other, and it’s easy to get that information up front.

The other change is buyer agency agreements. These were never new, but they did become mandatory. Now, before you can go out and tour homes, you do have to sign an agency agreement with an agent.

The reason for that is transparency. We want to provide transparency up front about all of the fees associated with your home purchase. Before, you didn’t really know what the buyer’s agent was earning or how that impacted your negotiations or your pricing. Now there’s a lot more transparency, and that’s a good thing for both parties.

What hasn’t changed. What didn’t go away is that sellers are still able to pay for the buyer’s agent commission, and many of them still do. The rules just shifted how that conversation happens and added more transparency for everyone involved.

What you need to know as a buyer. Before you go out shopping for homes, you’re going to sit down with your real estate agent and have a conversation about how they are going to be paid. In most cases, your agent can negotiate with the seller to pay their commission, and it’s just like any other term.

For years and years, we’ve been able to negotiate that the seller pays closing costs. This is no different from that. The process just made that conversation a little more formalized and standardized.

Here’s something worth knowing: 88% of buyers still worked with a real estate agent or broker last year, according to NAR’s most recent Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. That number has not dropped at all since this rule went into effect in 2024. People still see the value in having someone in their corner negotiating on their behalf.

What you need to know as a seller. You might think you can get away with not paying the buyer’s agent commission. However, affordability is at an all-time low right now, and buyers are paying a premium for homes.

They’re paying really high interest rates, and it’s really hard for a lot of them to come up with an extra 2% or 3% to pay their buyer’s agent commission.

A lot of sellers are still offering a buyer’s agent commission. To compete with the other listings on the market, you’ll likely want to do the same. You don’t want to limit your buyer pool in this market, because that will end up costing you more in the end.

The bottom line. If you’re thinking about buying or selling, or you know someone who is, please reach out to us. We’d love to sit down with you and explain how all of this works in more detail, and talk through your specific goals and your specific situation so we can help guide you in the right direction. Whether you’re thinking about buying or thinking about selling, we’d love to have a conversation.

Call or text us at 360-800-1334, email us at jacqueline@evergreenrealestatepartners.com, or visit blog.evergreenrealestatepartners.com for more info.