Buyer's Agent Agreement Post-NAR Settlement: The Four Lines That Are Now Negotiable

You scheduled a Saturday morning showing. The agent emailed a buyer-broker agreement Friday night with the note "industry standard, need this signed before we can tour, see you at 10."

You sign at the kitchen table 30 seconds before the agent arrives. Three weeks later you find a house you love. The seller is offering 2% to the buyer's agent. Your agreement says 2.5%. The closing paperwork lists $2,625 in "buyer-paid agent compensation gap." You ask why nobody told you in advance.

This was the trade-off NAR Sitzer/Burnett was supposed to fix. The settlement (effective August 17, 2024) requires the agreement before any tour, but it also made every line of the agreement negotiable. Most buyers sign the default. Four lines decide the outcome.

TL;DR

• Compensation rate is no longer market-fixed. Post-settlement, anything from a flat $500 to 1% to 3% is normal. Negotiate.
• Exclusivity term should be days, not months. Demand 30 days non-exclusive for first try; refuse 6 months exclusive unless you have a confirmed relationship.
• Property scope should be the property you toured. Standard agreements give the agent commission on any home you buy. That is the line to fight first.
• The seller-pays gap is the trap. If the seller offers less than your contracted rate, you owe the difference. Strike or cap the gap before signing.
• "Objectively ascertainable" is the new standard. Flat fees and capped percentages are now the negotiation ground.

What the NAR settlement actually changed

Sitzer v. NAR was decided in October 2023. A Kansas City federal jury found the National Association of Realtors and major brokerages liable for conspiring to inflate buyer-agent commissions. NAR settled for $418 million plus practice changes.

The practice changes took effect August 17, 2024. The settlement was finalized by Judge Stephen R. Bough on November 26, 2024. Two changes matter for buyers:

1. Written buyer-broker agreements are required before any home tour. Agents who don't get the agreement signed first cannot legally show you a property and bill for it.
2. MLS listings can no longer advertise cooperative compensation to buyer's agents. Sellers can still offer to pay the buyer's agent, but the offer happens outside the MLS, in private negotiation.

The combined effect: commission rates are no longer market-fixed, and the buyer is now contractually responsible for the difference between what they agreed to and what the seller offers. The four lines below are where that math gets decided.

Line 1: Compensation rate

Standard post-settlement default:

Buyer agrees to pay Broker a commission equal to two and one-half
percent (2.5%) of the gross purchase price of any property acquired
by Buyer during the Term of this Agreement.

What to negotiate to: Anything that is "objectively ascertainable" (settlement requirement). Options:

• Capped percentage: "no more than 2.0% of purchase price, or what the seller's listing offers, whichever is less"
• Flat fee: "$5,000 flat fee paid at closing"
• Tiered: "$3,000 if purchase price is below $400K, $5,000 if $400K-$700K, $7,500 above"

The market average in 2025 has dropped from 2.5%-3% pre-settlement to roughly 1.5%-2.5% post-settlement. Flat fees in the $2,000-$10,000 range are increasingly common, especially in markets where median home prices push percentage commissions above what the agent's hours justify.

Line 2: Exclusivity term

Standard default:

The Term of this Agreement is six (6) months from the date of
signing. During the Term, Buyer agrees to work exclusively with
Broker for the acquisition of any residential real estate.

What to negotiate to: "Thirty (30) days, non-exclusive, with mutual written extension required." Or "single property identified as [address], showings only, no exclusivity."

A 6-month exclusive agreement at 2.5% on the wrong agent costs the buyer the commission on every house they consider during that window. Tour with multiple agents at the beginning. Lock in exclusivity only when you have a relationship that earns it.

Line 3: Property scope

Standard default:

This Agreement applies to all residential real estate in [county or
region] that Buyer may acquire during the Term, regardless of whether
Broker was the procuring cause of the introduction.

What to negotiate to: "Only properties shown by Broker or for which Broker negotiated terms on Buyer's behalf."

The default standard form gives the agent commission on any home you buy during the term, including off-market homes you found yourself, homes a relative referred you to, and homes you toured with a different agent before signing. The "procuring cause" carve-out is the line that matters; demand it in writing.

Line 4: The seller-pays gap

This is the costliest line. Default forms make the buyer responsible for any shortfall between contracted compensation and what the seller offers.

Standard default:

If the Seller's offer of compensation is less than the amount
specified above, Buyer shall pay the difference directly to Broker
at Closing. If the Seller offers no compensation, Buyer shall pay
the full amount specified above at Closing.

What to negotiate to: One of three clean alternatives.

Option A (zero gap): "Broker's compensation shall not exceed what Seller offers; if Seller offers nothing, Broker waives compensation."

Option B (capped gap): "Buyer's maximum out-of-pocket compensation shall not exceed $2,000 regardless of the gap between contracted rate and Seller's offer."

Option C (gap absorbed by Broker): "Broker accepts whatever Seller offers as full compensation; any gap is the Broker's risk, not the Buyer's."

Most agents will resist Option A. Option B is the working compromise that protects buyers from surprise five-figure gaps without forcing the agent to absorb all risk. Option C is what many flat-fee agents already accept. Pick the one that matches your leverage.

The "objectively ascertainable" requirement

Per the settlement, compensation must be objectively ascertainable. Three phrases that no longer comply:

• "Market rate": not ascertainable, no fixed number.
• "What the seller offers" without a cap or floor: open-ended.
• "To be negotiated at closing": explicitly not ascertainable.

If the agreement contains any of these, it likely violates the settlement and is challengeable. Many agents are still using pre-settlement template language; reading the agreement carefully catches this.

What the settlement did not change

Three things the settlement left alone:

1. Dual agency. If your agent also represents the seller, that arrangement is still legal in most states but creates a fiduciary conflict. Strike it from the agreement if possible.
2. Sub-agency. The buyer's agent can still sub-contract showings to another agent. Read the assignment clause.
3. Listing-side commissions. Sellers still negotiate listing agent commissions separately; the settlement only changed the cooperative offer to the buyer's agent.

Before you sign: the 5-minute scan

Pull up the agreement on your phone before the Saturday morning showing. Five things:

1. The compensation number. Is it specific? Is it less than 2.5%?
2. The term length. Is it 30 days or less for a first try?
3. The property scope. Does it limit to "procured by Broker"?
4. The gap language. Is it zero, capped, or absorbed?
5. The cancellation clause. Can you terminate for any reason with 14 days notice?

If the answer to any one is unclear, ask before signing. Agents who refuse to clarify in writing are signaling something. The home buying red flags pillar puts this in the broader pre-closing checklist.

Redline reads a buyer-broker agreement in plain English. Photograph the document the agent sent, paste the text, or upload the PDF. Redline flags the compensation rate, the exclusivity term, the property scope, and the seller-pays gap, and explains exactly what each line will cost you on a specific purchase price. One scan, one dollar. Available on iOS and Android.