The Typical Buyer’s Agent Earns 2.55% in Commission, a Rate That Has Declined Since the NAR Settlement Was Announced in March

• • Buyer’s agent commissions have declined since the NAR settlement announcement; the average stands at 2.55%, down from 2.62% at the beginning of the year. Changes mandated by the NAR settlement must be complete by August 17; we could see further declines after that.  
  • In dollar terms, the typical buyer’s agent earns $15,377 per deal, up marginally since January due to rising home prices. 
  • On a local level, percent commissions have declined throughout 2024 in all but 3 of the most populous U.S. metro areas; most of the decreases are less than one-tenth of a percent. Commission percentages have declined most in Detroit, Cleveland and Miami. 
  • Redfin has always charged lower fees; for instance, Redfin charges a listing fee as low as 1% and doesn’t dictate whether or how much sellers offer to a buyer’s agent.  

The typical U.S. home seller pays a 2.55% commission to the real estate agent hired by their home’s buyer. That’s down from an average of 2.62% in January, before the industry-shaking NAR settlement was announced in March. The 2024 decline is a continuation of a yearslong gradual decline in commissions, which Redfin has reported in the past. It’s also possible that news of the settlement made consumers more aware they can offer any commission to a buyer’s agent or none at all, contributing to the decline since March.

For this report, Redfin analyzed MLS data of rolling four-week periods through July 14, 2024. It includes listings that offer a commission to the buyer’s agent and excludes listings that offer no commission or for which the commission field is missing. 

In dollar terms, the average commission paid to a buyer’s agent in the U.S. is $15,377, up slightly from $15,124 in January. The dollar amount has increased marginally even though the percentage has declined because of the rise in home prices. The national average commission is calculated as an average of actual buyers’ agent commissions in the multiple listing services (MLSs) that are currently reporting on this data.

We’re reporting on this data now because buyers’ agent commissions are in the news and on consumers’ minds as we get closer to August 17, the deadline for NAR-affiliated MLSs to implement the changes mandated by the $418 million National Association of Realtors (NAR) settlement. Back in March, NAR agreed to settle a series of class action lawsuits in part by changing its rules on the way commissions offered to buyers’ agents are advertised. In the series of lawsuits that led to the March settlement, home sellers alleged that NAR’s longstanding rules on commissions forced them to pay excessive fees to agents.

As it stands, home sellers pay the buyer’s agent commission as well as their own agent’s commission in the majority of transactions. Under the terms of the settlement, listing agents may no longer advertise a unilateral offer of buyer’s agent commissions in MLSs that are affiliated with NAR or in MLSs that have opted in to the NAR settlement. That has the potential to change the homebuying and selling process in various ways, and make it more likely that buyer agent commissions become part of the offer negotiation. It’s too soon to tell how these changes will shake out and how much they will impact the fees consumers pay. 

What we do know is that the average percent commission paid to buyer’s agents has steadily come down since the NAR settlement was announced, though the decrease is small and the dollar amount paid to buyer’s agents has held steady. Additionally, buyer’s agent commissions had already posted a modest decline in the decade before the settlement, from an average of 2.89% in 2013 to 2.66% in 2023. 

“Redfin agents are reporting that commissions have been top of mind for clients since the NAR settlement was announced, and some sellers are asking about what it would mean to offer no commission or a relatively low one,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Still, even before the blitz of publicity around the class-action lawsuits and NAR settlement, commissions were coming down. That’s partly because of the competitive housing market before and during the pandemic—which motivated some sellers to offer a low commission because they knew they could still attract buyers—and greater fee transparency.”

Commission percentages have declined in all but three of the most populous U.S. metros since the NAR settlement–but the decreases are small

Broken down by metro area, commission percentages paid to buyer’s agents have declined in all but three of the most populous metro areas since the NAR settlement was announced. They increased incrementally in one, and stayed flat in two. Most of the declines are small, less than one-tenth of a percent. Redfin analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metros and included in this analysis the 49 with sufficient data.

Commission percentages have declined most in Detroit: The average commission paid to a buyer’s agent there was 2.87% during the four weeks ending July 14, down from 3.18% in January. Next come Cleveland (2.39%, down from 2.62%), and Miami (2.63%, down from 2.84%).

Commission percentages increased incrementally in Cincinnati; the average there is 2.95%, up from 2.93% in January. 

Commission percentages are highest in Austin, TX (2.99%), Cincinnati (2.95%) and San Antonio (2.91%). They’re lowest in Nassau County, NY (1.95%), Providence, RI (2.05%), and Anaheim, CA (2.11%). 

Dollar-amount commissions are highest in expensive California metros

In dollars, the average amount of money buyer’s agents earn in commission is highest in metros where homes are expensive. In San Francisco, the average commission was $50,734 during the four weeks ending July 14. Next come San Jose, CA ($43,159) and Anaheim ($39,877). 

Buyer’s agents earn the least amount of money per deal in places where homes are relatively inexpensive, all in the Rust Belt: Cleveland (average of $5,280 per deal), Detroit ($7,054) and Pittsburgh ($7,918).

Redfin has always been about lower fees

For our entire history, Redfin has advocated for lower fees, transparency and more choices for real estate consumers. Redfin charges customers a listing fee as low as 1%, and we don’t dictate whether or how much our sellers offer to a buyer’s agent. For many years, we’ve delivered savings to buyers, most recently through our Sign & Save program. In total, Redfin has saved consumers over $1.6 billion in real estate fees, and we’re excited to continue that effort in this new era of real estate. 

*Indianapolis is excluded due to insufficient data