Much anxiety ensued in the wake of the National Association of Realtors’ commission lawsuit settlement, when buyer’s and seller’s agent commissions were officially decoupled, leaving many to wonder how much buyer’s agents would actually get paid in this new landscape.
Data shows, however, that buyer’s agent commissions have largely rebounded at this point, in the wake of new industry rules going into effect in August 2024.
The average buyer’s agent commission increased from 2.36 percent during Q3 2024 to 2.42 percent during Q3 2025, according to new data from Redfin. That Q3 2025 commission rate was about equal to the rate of 2.43 percent during Q2 2025.
The average buyer’s agent commission has still not returned to the high of 2.51 percent last seen in the first quarter of 2023, but it is inching closer.
Courtesy of Redfin
Redfin’s analysis is based on buyer’s agent commissions for closed home sales by Redfin agents’ listings, deals referred by Redfin and those closed by Redfin partner agents. It excludes deals where Redfin agents represented the buyer in order to track fees across the real estate industry, instead of Redfin’s unique commission structure.
Buyer’s agent commissions dipped slightly after NAR announced the industry practice changes would go into effect, hitting a low of 2.36 percent during the third quarter of 2024. Since then, however, buyer’s agent commissions have steadily risen again, tracking a market that has favored buyers and given them more negotiating power on the whole.
“If demand were high and homes were selling fast, I think we would see more sellers offering a lower commission to buyer’s agents,” Chicago-based Redfin Premier agent Beth Behling said in Redfin’s report. “But now the market is much slower, and buyers have negotiating power over sellers. If anything, buyers can ask for a higher commission for their agents, knowing they may be the only offer on the table.”
Across all price points, buyer’s agent commissions largely remained stable between the second and third quarters of 2025.
Homes that sold for less than $500,000 saw average buyer’s agent commissions of 2.52 percent during Q3 2025, the same as the previous quarter, and up from 2.45 percent the year before. That 2.52 percent commission rate is also the highest level it has seen since 2023.
Homes sold between $500,000 and $999,999 had an average buyer’s agent commission of 2.32 percent, down slightly from 2.34 percent during the second quarter of 2025, and up from 2.31 percent during Q3 2024.
Meanwhile, $1 million-plus homes have seen a modest decline in buyer’s agent commissions in the last year. During Q3 2025, the average buyer’s agent commission was 2.22 percent, down from 2.24 percent the previous year, but up from 2.21 percent during the second quarter of 2025.
Some agents have said that industry changes in the wake of the class-action lawsuits have been less severe than initially anticipated, according to interviews conducted by Inman contributor and FIG Team member Martha Melendez. Agents also believe that greater transparency and more direct communication with clients have been other positive outcomes of the settlement.
