No, you do not have to pay a Realtor to show you houses on a per-visit basis. But since August 17, 2024, any agent who tours a home with you — in person or virtually — must first have you sign a written buyer representation agreement that spells out how they will be paid.1National Association of REALTORS®. Written Buyer Agreements 101 That compensation is paid at closing, not at the door. The seller may cover it, you may cover it, or the two of you may split it, but the automatic seller-pays arrangement that used to be baked into every listing is gone.
The Written Agreement You Sign Before Any Tour
The written buyer agreement rule came out of a class action settlement in Burnett v. The National Association of Realtors, which took effect on August 17, 2024.2Real Estate Commission Litigation. Burnett et al. v The National Association of Realtors et al. Two changes matter for anyone about to start touring homes:
- Listing agents can no longer post offers of compensation to buyer agents on the Multiple Listing Service. The built-in commission split that used to pay your agent automatically has been removed from the MLS.3National Association of REALTORS®. NAR Settlement FAQs
- Any agent working with you must have a signed written agreement in place before touring a property, and that agreement has to state what the agent will earn.
The compensation term has to be concrete. The agreement must “specify and conspicuously disclose” the amount or rate, and it cannot be open-ended language like “whatever the seller is offering.”4National Association of REALTORS®. Written Buyer Agreements 101 It has to state a dollar figure, a percentage of the purchase price, an hourly rate, or a per-service fee.
Everything in the agreement is negotiable, including the services included, the length of the term, and the pay itself.5National Association of REALTORS®. Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements If you are not sure about the agent, ask for a shorter term. Some states cap how long these agreements can run.
Who Actually Pays the Fee at Closing
Under the old model, sellers typically agreed to a total commission of 5% to 6% and the listing broker split that with the buyer’s agent, so buyers rarely wrote a check for agent services. That is no longer guaranteed. Three ways the buyer agent’s fee can get paid now:
- Seller concessions. A seller can still agree, as part of the deal, to cover some or all of your agent’s fee. Sellers can even advertise concessions on the MLS to help with buyer transaction costs, including buyer broker fees, but those concessions cannot be conditioned on you using a specific agent.6National Association of REALTORS®. Compensation, Commission and Concessions
- You pay directly. If the seller offers nothing, or the concession doesn’t fully cover the agreed fee, you pay the difference at closing out of pocket.
- Off-MLS negotiation between brokers. Commission offers are banned on the MLS, but listing brokers and buyer brokers can still work out compensation outside the MLS system.3National Association of REALTORS®. NAR Settlement FAQs
In practice, most buyer agent fees are still being paid from sale proceeds. Rates currently average roughly 2.4% to 2.7% of the purchase price, though what you negotiate may run higher or lower depending on your market and the services included. One thing you cannot do: roll the commission into your mortgage. It is a closing cost and has to be paid separately.
All real estate brokerage fees and commissions are itemized on your Closing Disclosure, showing the amount paid and who received it.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1026.38 – Content of Disclosures for Certain Mortgage Transactions
If You’re Using a VA Loan
The VA issued a temporary policy in August 2024 allowing veterans to pay buyer-broker fees directly. Under VA Circular 26-24-14, veterans may pay reasonable buyer-broker charges in areas where listing brokers can no longer set buyer-broker compensation through the MLS. The fee cannot be added to the loan amount, and the VA treats the buyer representation agreement as part of the loan file.8Veterans Benefits Administration. VA Circular 26-24-14
Touring Homes Without Signing Anything
You can walk through open houses without signing a buyer agreement and without paying a cent. The written agreement rule only applies when an agent is touring a home with you. Visiting an open house, or just asking a real estate professional about their services, doesn’t trigger it.5National Association of REALTORS®. Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements
Open houses are a way to see properties, ask questions, and get a feel for pricing at no cost. Just remember that the agent hosting the open house represents the seller. They are not obligated to advocate for you. If you decide to make an offer on a home you saw at an open house, you would typically sign a buyer agreement with your own agent at that point.
Upfront Costs Some Agents Charge
The standard model is payment at closing, but not every arrangement fits that pattern. Some agents charge upfront retainers of roughly $500 to $1,500 to secure their dedicated time. Retainers are often credited back against the final commission, so you are not paying twice. In less common situations, an agent may charge a per-showing fee if you have not signed an exclusive representation agreement with them.
Separately, some brokerages tack on administrative or transaction fees, sometimes called “broker service fees” or “compliance fees,” on top of the agent’s commission. These are flat charges for paperwork processing and will show up on your Closing Disclosure. Any direct fee an agent plans to charge you — retainer, per-showing, or administrative — should be written into your buyer representation agreement before services begin.
Getting Out of the Agreement
If the relationship isn’t working, you can terminate the agreement, but how depends on what you signed. Most agreements include a termination clause covering the process, any required notice, and whether you owe anything on exit.
- Read the termination clause first. Check the required notice method, any termination fees, and whether cancellation is allowed at will or only for cause.
- Send written notice to the brokerage, addressed to the broker of record or office manager rather than only your individual agent. Keep copies.
- Ask for a signed mutual release confirming the agreement is over and neither side owes the other anything further.
- Watch for a “tail” or protection period. Many agreements let the agent still collect a commission if you buy a home they showed you within a set window after termination. Ask for a written list of the specific properties covered.
Until you have a signed release, you may still owe a commission on properties the agent introduced you to. If the brokerage won’t cooperate, you can escalate through your local Realtor association’s mediation process or file a complaint with your state’s real estate licensing board.
Procuring Cause: Why Switching Agents Is Risky
If you tour a home with one agent and then buy it through another, the first agent can claim to be the “procuring cause” of the sale, meaning their work started the chain of events that led to the purchase. Procuring cause is decided case by case, looking at the whole course of events rather than who wrote the offer. An arbitration panel weighs who first made contact with you, whether there were breaks in the agent’s involvement, and whether your decision to buy traces back to the original agent’s efforts.
The practical result: if you toured a house with Agent A and then bought it through Agent B, Agent A may still have a legitimate claim to the commission. To limit that risk, formally terminate one agreement before signing another, and get a written list of any properties covered by a tail period.