How buyer agent pay works now: what Sarasota sellers should know
What changed for Sarasota sellers after the 2024 NAR settlement: buyer agent pay is off the MLS, buyers sign agreements first, and it's all negotiable.
Since August 2024, offers to pay a buyer’s agent no longer appear on the MLS, and agents who work with buyers need a written agreement before touring homes. That agreement sets what the buyer’s agent is paid. As a seller, you can still choose to pay some or all of it, or offer a credit toward the buyer’s costs, but it’s now something you decide and negotiate, usually through your listing agreement and the offer itself.
Agent pay isn’t set by law, on either side of the deal. It’s negotiable, and how you handle it can change what you net.
What changed in 2024?
In 2024, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) settled lawsuits brought by home sellers over how buyer agents were paid. As part of the settlement, NAR changed its rules for Realtors and for the MLSs affiliated with it, starting August 17, 2024. Stellar MLS, the MLS for Sarasota and Manatee, put the changes in place.
Two changes matter most for sellers:
- Buyer agent pay is off the MLS. Listings on the MLS can no longer show an offer of compensation to the buyer’s agent. Sellers can still make one, but it’s communicated another way.
- Buyers sign a written agreement first. An agent working with a buyer needs a written agreement before touring a home with them. It has to state what the agent will be paid in clear terms, not open-ended, say that the amount is negotiable and not set by law, and bar the agent from collecting more than that amount from any source.
| Before August 2024 | Since August 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Where an offer to the buyer agent appeared | On the MLS listing | Not on the MLS; handled between agents, in the listing agreement and in the offer |
| Buyer agreement | Often signed later, or not at all | Written agreement needed before touring a home |
| What the buyer agreement says | Varied | States the agent pay in clear terms and that it is negotiable |
| Who pays the buyer agent | Usually set by the seller through the listing | Set in the buyer agreement; the seller may agree to cover some or all of it |
| Seller credits toward buyer costs | Allowed | Still allowed, negotiated in the contract, and can still be mentioned on the MLS |
| Is the amount set by law? | No | No, it is negotiable |
General summary of the NAR settlement practice changes. Verify current rules with Wagner Realty's broker.
Do sellers still pay the buyer’s agent?
Sometimes. It’s a choice now, made openly. Some sellers decide before listing that they’ll offer something toward a buyer’s agent. Others wait to see what each buyer asks for. Some decline. All of those are allowed.
What happens in practice is that buyers often ask for it in their offer. A buyer may ask you to pay their agent directly, or to give a credit at closing that they can put toward their costs. You can accept, counter or say no, the same as any other term in the offer.
Why does this matter for your sale?
Because it affects how many buyers can make a workable offer on your home. A buyer who has signed an agreement with their agent owes that agent under the agreement. If the buyer has to cover it out of pocket, on top of a down payment and closing costs, some buyers will offer less, ask for a credit, or pass on homes where they think the seller won’t help.
That doesn’t mean you should offer anything. It means you should decide on purpose, with an idea of who your likely buyers are and how they’ll be paying for the home. A cash buyer and a buyer with a small down payment may look at this very differently.
What goes in your listing agreement now?
Your listing agreement covers what you’ll pay your listing brokerage and, separately, whether you’re willing to offer anything toward a buyer’s agent. Under the new rules, your listing agent has to disclose in writing, ahead of time, any payment or offer of payment to a buyer’s agent, including the amount or rate, and get your approval before making it.
Ask your listing agent to walk you through it before you sign:
- Whether you want to offer anything toward a buyer’s agent up front, or decide offer by offer
- How that will be communicated to buyers’ agents, since it can’t go on the MLS
- How a buyer’s request for a credit or for you to pay their agent will show up in an offer
- What you’d net under each approach
We go through the whole selling process in help me sell my home.
How should you compare offers now?
By the net, not just the price. Two offers at the same price can leave you with different amounts if one asks you to pay the buyer’s agent or give a closing credit and the other doesn’t. A slightly higher price with a credit can also net less than a lower price without one.
When we lay out offers for sellers, we show each one as what you’d walk away with after closing costs, credits and any amount you’d pay toward the buyer’s agent. That makes the choice clear. It also helps to know what your home is likely to sell for before any of this comes up, which is the starting point in what’s my Sarasota home worth?
What about new construction?
Builders make their own decisions about buyer agents, and many have their own policies. If you’re selling a resale home in a community where builders are still selling new homes, your buyers are comparing your offer terms with the builder’s incentives too. Buyers can read how agent pay works on a new build in new construction in Sarasota? Bring your own agent first.
How has this come up in an offer we handled?
[NEEDS RICHARD: a real example of how buyer agent pay or a seller credit came up in a recent offer (no names or numbers): what the buyer asked for, what the seller decided, and how it affected the deal]
What’s the next step?
Before you list, get a price and a plain-English walk through what you’d net under different approaches. Fill out our home value form and we’ll send a written pricing opinion, usually within 24 hours. See more on how we sell homes, or if you’re buying too, start with a buyer consultation so your own buyer agreement is clear from day one.
