Yes, a seller can refuse to pay the buyer's agent as long as they haven't agreed to it in a signed contract, such as a listing agreement or purchase agreement.
If you're getting ready to list, you're likely weighing two worries at once. Paying a second agent is expensive: On a $500,000 home, the average buyer's agent fee of 2.70% works out to about $13,500.[1] But it's also expensive to watch buyers skip your home because you're not willing to pay their agent.
While a seller paying the buyer's agent is technically optional, agents say most sellers end up paying anyway. In Clever's August 2026 survey, 73% of agents said sellers in their market are likely to cover the buyer's agent.[1]
If your goal is to save on realtor fees, a risk-free option is to use a low-commission listing agent. You can find one through Clever Real Estate, a service that connects sellers with top agents who charge lower fees — saving sellers $7,000 on average. Find the best agents near you who offer a 1.5% listing fee today!
Key takeaways
- You don't have to pay the buyer's agent. Since Aug. 17, 2024, it's a negotiation in the buyer's offer. You only owe it if you've agreed to it in a signed listing agreement or purchase contract.
- Most sellers still pay it. In Clever's August 2026 average commission rates survey of 434 agents, 73% said sellers in their market are likely to cover the buyer's agent.
- The average buyer's agent fee is 2.70%. That's $13,500 on a $500,000 home. With the listing agent's 2.76%, the total averages 5.46%, or just over $27,000.
- Most sellers don't know it's optional. In Clever's July 2026 survey of 500 recent sellers, 59% didn't know offering the buyer's agent a commission was optional.
- Refusing rarely saves the whole fee. Buyers often raise their price to cover it, pay their agent themselves, or skip the home.
- Your leverage depends on your offers. With one offer, it's hard to push back on the fee. With several, you can counter it. You can also ask your own agent for a lower listing fee: 93% of sellers who asked got one. Or you can use a discount real estate broker like Clever for a pre-negotiated low fee.
Do sellers really need to pay a buyer's agent?
Technically, no. Since Aug. 17, 2024, listings on REALTOR® MLSs can't show an offer of pay to the buyer's agent, and buyers must sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes.[2] That agreement sets the agent's pay and makes the buyer responsible for any amount the seller doesn't cover.
A federal appeals court upheld the settlement on Aug. 19, 2026, so these rules are staying.[3] Our NAR settlement guide covers what changed for sellers in more detail.
You can still pay the buyer's agent (and most sellers still do). Instead of a fixed percentage posted on the MLS, the buyer asks for it in the offer, and you accept, counter, or decline. You can also tell buyer's agents up front, through your agent, that you're open to it. Seller concessions can still appear on the MLS as long as they're available to any buyer.[2]
Jake Kubota, a REALTOR® with Real Broker LLC who mostly represents sellers in the Chicago suburbs, says buyer's agents now call before they show a home or write an offer. His answer is usually the same. "Potentially yes, it really is going to depend on the offer, and my seller would make the decision from there," Kubota says.
How often do sellers still pay the buyer's agent?
Most of the time. In Clever's August 2026 agent survey, 46% of agents said sellers in their market still commonly offer to pay the buyer's agent up front, and 73% said sellers are likely to cover it once an offer asks.[1]
Kubota's own numbers run higher. "Of the last 20 deals, I'd say 19 just paid it," he says.
The rate hasn't dropped, either. Buyer's agents averaged 2.58% in 2024, the year the settlement took effect, and 2.70% in 2026.[1]
Elliott Grozan, a REALTOR® with Denovo Realty and Clever Partner Agent in Brevard County, FL, sees the same pattern. Florida's average buyer's agent fee rose from 2.42% to 2.64% over that stretch. "We haven't changed much at all," Grozan says. "If anything, commission rates have actually increased a small amount."
The sellers who do refuse often misread the settlement, says Kate Wilhelms, director of marketing and operations at Gateway Realty Group in St. Louis. "Most of the time, the sellers who resist the most are the ones who misheard 'you don't have to pay anymore' and hence refuse to pay," she says.
Why do sellers pay the buyer's agent?
Sellers pay because the buyer usually can't. A buyer has already stretched to cover a down payment and closing costs. The seller is about to receive the buyer's money at closing, so the fee is paid from the sale proceeds rather than the buyer's savings.
"The buyer is bringing funding, that funding is transferred to the seller, and then the seller, who now has all of this money, is able to disburse funds in a way that helps everybody win," Kubota says.
Mortgage rules point the same way. Fannie Mae said in April 2024 that seller-paid buyer's agent commissions that follow local custom "are not required to be counted towards the IPC limits," the caps on how much a seller can contribute to a buyer's costs.[4]
Lenders generally won't let a buyer add the fee directly to the loan, though.
Habit plays a part too. Grozan reminds sellers who balk that most of them are about to buy. "Yes, you're paying two sides of the compensation," he says. "But when you buy your next property, you're going to expect the same thing that you're doing right now."
Does the seller pay both commissions?
Usually. The seller pays the listing agent under the listing agreement and, in most deals, covers the buyer's agent as a concession in the purchase contract. Both come out of the sale proceeds at closing, so you never write a check.
This table shows the costs of both agents at 2026 averages. Rates vary by state; see average commission rates by state.
| Sale price | Listing agent (2.76%) | Buyer's agent (2.70%) | Total (5.46%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $8,280 | $8,100 | $16,380 |
| $400,000 | $11,040 | $10,800 | $21,840 |
| $500,000 | $13,800 | $13,500 | $27,300 |
| $750,000 | $20,700 | $20,250 | $40,950 |
Commissions go to each agent's brokerage, which then pays the agent. You can negotiate both. Our guide to negotiating realtor fees covers how.
Can a seller refuse to pay the buyer's agent?
Yes, as long as you haven't already agreed to it in writing. Once you sign a contract that commits you to pay, you're bound by it. Refusing at that point is a breach of contract and can lead to a lawsuit.
Check two documents. Some listing agreements still include a line for buyer's agent pay. In South Carolina, for example, the old listing agreement set it under "3. Compensation to Other Brokerages."
In new contracts following the NAR settlement, a field allows sellers to cover a specific dollar amount of the buyer's transaction costs, including agent commission:
If those fields are blank or say 0%, you don't owe the buyer's agent anything. Before you list, ask your agent to show you every place the buyer's agent fee appears in your paperwork. If you're unsure what a clause commits you to, have a real estate attorney read it.
What happens if a seller refuses?
One of three things, according to the agents we talked to: the buyer pays their own agent, the buyer raises the price to cover it, or the buyer moves on.
1. The buyer pays the fee
Grozan tells every seller to offer something. One listing client insisted anyway. "I told this agent that showed it, 'Listen, my seller is not paying a buyer side commission,'" Grozan says. The agent went back to her clients, and they agreed to pay her fee out of pocket. "So it worked out," Grozan says. "But usually that's not the case. I've seen so many listings expire if they're not offering anything."
2. The price on the house goes up
Kubota's one holdout in 20 deals ended this way. Using round numbers, he described buyers who offered $100,000. The seller accepted, then refused to pay the buyer's agent, so the buyers came back at $103,000 to cover the fee. The seller netted the same either way. "It was more of an ego thing, in my opinion," Kubota says.
A higher price only works if the home appraises at it. If the appraisal comes in short, the buyer has to cover the gap in cash or the deal gets renegotiated.
3. The buyer walks
You may never hear about this one. Buyers who can't cover their agent's fee quietly skip homes that won't pay it. Wilhelms says cutting the buyer's agent fee "doesn't really save money; on the contrary, it kills deals in the background."
Pushing back can still work when you have leverage. Michael Perna, who leads The Perna Team in Metro Detroit, recently listed a $2.7 million home. His seller offered the buyer's agent 2%, which Perna says is typical for luxury homes in his market. The buyer's agent threatened to tell her buyers to walk away unless she got 3%. The seller declined and moved to 2.25%. While the buyer's agent stalled, a second offer came in. The second buyer matched the first buyer's higher price at the lower commission.
Who gets the commission if the buyer has no agent?
If the buyer doesn't have an agent, nobody collects a buyer's agent fee. You pay your listing agent whatever your listing agreement says.
Read that agreement closely. Some set a higher listing fee if your agent ends up handling an unrepresented buyer, since they'll do more of the paperwork. If your agent represents both you and the buyer, that's dual agency, which is banned in some states.
Unrepresented buyers are uncommon. In NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 88% of buyers purchased through an agent or broker.[5]
Among buyers who skipped an agent in Clever's 2025 homebuyer survey, 27% already knew the seller, 22% felt they could handle the purchase on their own, and 21% thought commissions were too expensive.[6]
How to decide what to offer the buyer's agent
Make the decision with your agent before the first offer arrives, using your local numbers. These steps keep the fee from costing you more than it has to.
1. Don't advertise zero
Grozan's rule is to leave the door open without promising a number. "One thing I always tell my sellers not to do is offer nothing," he says. "At the very least, don't offer a fixed percentage. Just make it part of the offer terms. Make it negotiable."
2. Match your market
Ask your agent what buyer's agents received on homes that sold near you in the last 90 days. Then offer about that much. "If it's 2%, you can get away with 2%," Grozan says. "If the average market is paying 2.5, offer the 2.5. You just want maximum exposure right now."
Our state commission data gives you a starting point. Buyer's agent averages ranged from 2.21% in New York to 3.09% in Michigan in August 2026.[1]
3. Use your leverage
Your room to push back depends on how many offers you get. "If your home is only getting one offer, it's really hard to negotiate a buyer agent fee," Kubota says. "If you're priced well, the home's in good shape and you have five or six offers, you have a lot more leverage."
4. Counter the fee along with the price
A low offer is a good moment to trim the buyer's agent fee. Chuck Vander Stelt, a broker with Quadwalls Real Estate in Valparaiso, IN, recently received an offer "a bit low," so he had his seller counter on the commission. "We succeeded and lowered the rate by 1%," he says.
5. Look at the listing side, too
The listing fee is the one you control from the start. In Clever's seller survey, 93% of sellers who asked their agent for a lower commission got one.[7]
But only 33% of sellers who used an agent asked. On a $500,000 home, cutting the listing fee from 2.76% to 1.5% saves $6,300, and you can still offer the buyer's agent the local rate.
When you interview agents, ask: "What are buyer's agents getting on homes like mine right now, and what would you recommend I offer?" Then ask: "What's your listing fee if I offer that?"
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Do buyers ever pay?
Historically, buyers rarely pay their agents out of pocket. Buyers may pay when the seller covers less than their buyer agreement says, or nothing at all. Most agreements have the agent ask the seller first and bill the buyer only for the gap.
In North Carolina, for example, the buyer agency agreement can require the buyer to pay the difference if the seller offers less than the agent's fee.
FAQ
Does the seller pay the buyer's agent commission?
In most sales, yes. Sellers aren't required to, but 73% of agents in Clever's August 2026 survey said sellers in their market are likely to cover it.[1] It's now negotiated in the buyer's offer instead of posted on the MLS.
Can a seller back out of paying the buyer's agent after signing?
Generally, no. If your listing agreement or purchase contract commits you to pay a set amount, refusing to pay it later is a breach of contract. Talk to your agent and a real estate attorney before you sign if you're unsure.
Is the buyer's agent fee negotiable for sellers?
Yes. You can decline, offer part of it or counter the amount in the offer. How far you get depends on how many offers you have and what other sellers nearby are paying.
Do sellers have to pay the buyer's agent in a buyer's market?
No, but it matters more. When homes sit and buyers have choices, a listing that won't pay the buyer's agent gets skipped more often. "Especially in this market, where there are so many listings versus the number of really active buyers, you want to stand out and take care of the other side," Grozan says.
Does the buyer's agent fee still show up on the MLS?
No. Since Aug. 17, 2024, REALTOR® MLSs can't show offers of pay to buyer's agents.[2] Your agent can share your position with buyer's agents directly, and general seller concessions open to any buyer can still be listed.
Methodology
Commission rates and agent survey figures come from Clever's survey of 434 real estate agents, conducted July 26 to Aug. 20, 2026. Seller figures come from Clever's survey of 500 Americans who sold a home they lived in within the past two years, conducted July 10 to 14, 2026.
We also interviewed or collected written answers from these agents:
- Jake Kubota, a REALTOR® with Real Broker LLC and Clever Partner Agent in the Chicago suburbs, who mostly represents sellers.
- Elliott Grozan, a REALTOR® with Denovo Realty and Clever Partner Agent in Brevard County, FL, licensed for about 11 years.
- Michael Perna, who leads The Perna Team in Metro Detroit and has been in the business 24 years.
- Chuck Vander Stelt, a real estate broker with Quadwalls Real Estate in Valparaiso, IN.
- Kate Wilhelms, director of marketing and operations at Gateway Realty Group in St. Louis.
