Realtor commission changes: what sellers need to know
Realtor commission changes are about where an offer of pay can be advertised, not a fee the law assigns to you.
Realtor commission changes from the National Association of Realtors settlement are about where an offer of pay can be shown, and about what a buyer signs before a tour. They do not pick your fee. They do not require you to pay the broker who works with the buyer. Pay stays negotiable, and it is not set by law. The National Association of Realtors settlement facts are the source for those points. Read them before you accept a sentence that says the fee is standard.
If the listing will be on a multiple listing service, that service cannot carry an offer to pay the buyer's broker. You can still choose, away from the listing service, to offer that pay. If you do, put the amount in writing before anyone promises it to a buyer. A buyer who tours with an agent that uses the listing service will have a written agreement with that agent first. The agreement has to state the agent's pay in a form you can calculate, and it has to say the pay is negotiable and not set by law. You do not sign that buyer agreement. The amount in it is still the cap on what that agent can collect from any source, including you.
Write your own choices before you list. One line for what you will pay the listing broker, as a dollar amount or as the rate you actually agreed to. One line for whether you will offer anything to the buyer's broker, and how much. One line for selling it yourself and paying neither. Then open the realtor commission calculator and type those figures. The calculator does not fill in a rate. A blank cell is allowed. A number you made up so the page would look finished is not a plan you can take to a listing appointment.
Ask what work each fee covers: pricing, photos, showings, forms, and the offer. If a task is missing, ask who does it and what that piece costs on its own. Selling without a broker does not erase the jobs. It assigns them to you or to someone you hire for that piece. Compare the three totals, the hours, and the jobs, then decide. This page is not legal, tax, or financial advice. A listing agreement is a contract. Read it, and ask a lawyer if a clause is unclear.
What to do
- Read the settlement facts before you treat any fee as required.
- Write what you will pay a listing broker, and whether you will offer pay to a buyer's broker.
- Type only those figures into the commission calculator.
- Match each fee to the jobs it covers before you sign.