How much is the typical buyer’s real estate agent commission?
Historically, agent commissions have been around 5% to 6% of the home’s sale price, typically split between the buyer’s and seller’s agents. However, since the 2024 NAR settlement changed the structure and urged buyers to negotiate directly with their agents, the exact fees can vary. Based on traditional rates, buyers can expect to pay up to 3% of the home’s sale price in agent commissions.
Individual agents have different commission rates. Some individual agents might charge as much as 5% on their own, while others may take as little as 1%. Don’t forget, a lower fee might also mean fewer services.
Let’s ballpark some commission rates based on median and average sales prices in different parts of the country to give you an idea of what this might look like for you. For easy reference, we’ll use the 6% commission rate.
| Area | Median Sales Price |
Total Commission (6%) | Buyer Agent Commission (3%) |
| National | 420,400 | 25,224 | 12,612 |
| Northeast | 639,800 | 38,388 | 19,194 |
| Midwest | 384,500 | 23,070 | 11,535 |
| South | 376,300 | 22,578 | 11,289 |
| West | 549,200 | 32,952 | 16,476 |
| Area | Average Sales Price | Total Commission | Buyer Agent Commission |
| National | 501,100 | 30,066 | 15,033 |
| Northeast | 883,000 | 52,980 | 26,490 |
| Midwest | 424,300 | 25,458 | 12,729 |
| South | 447,200 | 26,832 | 13,416 |
| West | 610,300 | 36,618 | 18,309 |
As a luxury real estate agent, Walkerleib’s numbers can be much higher, even at the standard 3% commission. “On a $1 million home, $30,000 is the commission check. On a $2 million home, it’s $60,000. It continues to go up and up and up.”
And to justify his commission, he keeps asking himself, “So what are you bringing to the table that is worth that kind of money?” It’s a good question your agent should be able to answer, too.
Does the buyer’s agent keep the entire commission?
Here’s a secret most people don’t know: The buyer’s agent almost never keeps the entire commission they earn on a deal.
In most real estate agencies, a buyer’s agent is supervised by a broker, who typically takes between 30% and 50% of the buyer’s agent’s commission as the broker’s fee.
This can drop the buyer’s agent’s commission to between just 0.5% (at the low end) and 2% (at the high end) of your home’s sale price for all those hours of legwork.
What’s included in the buyer’s agent commission?
A buyer’s agent commission is earned by all the extra work they do for you, some of which you might not even be aware is happening in the background.
A buyer’s agent will typically help you…
Figure out what types of homes and areas will work best for your needs, saving you time and energy on doing this research yourself.
Set you up with access to the multiple listing service (MLS) and help you find homes in your budget. If you’ve moved areas, the MLS you need now may be different from your previous one, as they vary by location. Your budget also may have changed, and how much house you can buy might have changed with it.
Arrange to walk through homes that especially interest you. As they do so, they’ll be able to share insights about the home, area, or neighborhood that they know from other showings of the same home or in the same area.
Answer your questions about the market in general and specific homes in particular. Agents will know more about the area than you’ll be able to learn during your house hunt. They’ve worked in it over the course of months or years.
They also have access to insights from other agents, including the listing agent, that may be hard to come by. And they’ll be happy to share them all with you if you just ask.
Determine an offer price. A buyer’s agent is your advocate and will help you figure out the intersection of how much a realistic and good price for you for a particular house is. You may want to offer a little more or less depending on the features of the house, and an agent will help you figure out the numbers that make the most sense for you and for this house.
Write the offer. Once you know that number, you need to write the offer in a way that makes the seller likely to accept it. Your agent will do that for you.
Negotiate with the seller. Your offer price may be lower than the listed price. At that point, your agent will need to negotiate with the seller on your behalf and help them see why their listed price is too high and why your offer price (or something close to it) is reasonable and fair.
Handle earnest money and escrow. When you make an offer for a house, you need to put the deposit money into escrow until you exit negotiations (and the money is either returned to you or claimed by the seller), or you close on the house (and the money is delivered to the seller.)
Set a timeline for the deal to close. The average timeline for closing with a standard mortgage is 44 days. During that time, you will have several things you need to do to ensure you’re paying a good price for the house. Fortunately, your agent will be helping you with several of them.
Attend inspections. Even if you’re buying a home with cash and don’t have to have an official home inspection, do it anyway. An inspection will surface current and potential issues that you should be aware of, even if it’s only for informational purposes.
Negotiate post-inspection repairs. Your inspection may uncover issues or concerns that should be repaired before you move into your new home. Your agent will help you figure out which repairs need to happen now, and which ones can wait.
Discuss post-appraisal price adjustments. Your home appraisal might value your dream home differently than you just agreed to pay. If that’s the case and you need to renegotiate your offer price, your agent will help you with that.
Complete the final walkthrough. You may be distracted by the emotions of walking through your soon-to-be home. Having your agent on hand to help you confirm that basic home systems are working and which unfinished repairs you’re taking on can be really helpful.
Hold your hand at closing. If you’re feeling emotional, your agent can literally or figuratively hold your hand through this big step. They’ll also reassure you by performing an unemotional final check of all the documents to ensure everything is accurate and error-free.
