Do I have to sign a buyer broker agreement before I can see homes?

Yes, if your agent uses an MLS. Under the settlement that took effect August 17, 2024, buyers must sign written buyer broker agreements before touring homes, including live virtual tours. Open house conversations and general questions about services do not require an agreement [^4].

Can I still get the seller to pay my agent's commission?

Yes, but it works differently now. Sellers can still offer compensation off MLS [^4], and offering buyer concessions on MLS is still permitted [^4]. The key difference is that this is now a negotiation point you bring to the table rather than an automatic line item on the listing.

What happens to the settlement appeal?

Oral arguments were heard January 14, 2026, and a decision is expected in late summer or early fall 2026 [^3]. However, the practice changes are already in effect and will remain in effect regardless of the outcome [^3]. The appeal concerns the validity of the settlement agreement, not the rules currently governing your transaction.

What the NAR Settlement Actually Means for Your Closing — The Parts Nobody Explained

Q: How much do I have to pay my buyer's agent under the new rules?

Agent compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law [^4]. The agreement must state a specific amount, flat fee, percentage, or hourly rate, not an open-ended formulation. You can negotiate before signing and should compare at least two or three structures.

The Contract Nobody Read Until Now

In the spring of 2019, home sellers in Missouri filed an antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, Anywhere Real Estate, RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and HomeServices of America ^[3]. The case went to trial in the fall of 2023, and a jury found for the plaintiffs ^[3]. Rather than appeal further, NAR chose to settle. The association agreed to pay $418 million over four years, with $197 million paid in February 2025 and the next $72 million installment due in February 2026 ^[3]. Judge Stephen R. Bough granted preliminary approval on April 23, 2024, and final approval followed in November 2024 ^[6]. The practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024 ^[1].

That date is now in the past. Those rules are now in place. And if you are buying or selling a home in 2026, they apply to your transaction whether you have heard of Sitzer-Burnett or not.

The problem is that most buyers have not heard of it, and the people sitting across from them at the closing table have a financial reason to keep it that way.

What the Settlement Actually Changed

The NAR settlement originated from class action lawsuits filed by home sellers alleging forced payment of inflated commissions ^[1]. Under the settlement, the responsibility for paying a buyer's agent shifted to the buyer, whereas previously buyer's agents could tell clients they did not have to pay ^[4]. The settlement also mandated written buyer broker agreements before any home tour, and banned cooperative compensation offers from appearing on MLS platforms ^[6].

Here is the actual mechanism. Before August 2024, when you searched a home on an MLS, you could see the listing agent's offered compensation to the buyer's agent, usually expressed as a percentage. That number was baked into the asking price. Sellers competed for buyer-agent attention by advertising what they would pay the other side of the transaction. Buyers rarely saw a line item for agent commission because it was embedded in the total transaction cost.

The settlement eliminated the field where that number appeared on MLS platforms ^[6]. Sellers can still offer buyer concessions on MLS platforms, such as concessions for buyer closing costs, and can still offer compensation off MLS ^[4]. The buyer broker agreement requirement means that before you tour a home, your agent must present a written contract specifying the amount or rate of compensation, whether flat fee, percentage, or hourly, and the agreement must explicitly state that broker fees are fully negotiable and not set by law ^[4]. The agreement also prohibits your agent from receiving compensation from any source that exceeds the amount you agreed to ^[4].

Real estate attorney Heather Neveu with Chilton Yambert Porter LLP told ABC7 Chicago that buyers are now going to have to learn about their options concerning how realtors are paid ^[1]. Co-Founder of Weinberg Choi Residential Tommy Choi noted that the biggest thing is that consumers think commissions go away, but sellers do not have to pay the buyers' agent and never really had to, and the biggest challenge is affordability for a buyer ^[1].

Both characterizations are accurate and they point in opposite directions.

The Affordability Trap Nobody Is Advertising

Choi's observation deserves a closer look. Sellers historically included buyer-agent compensation in the offer they made to buyers. The buyer paid that commission indirectly, rolled into the purchase price. Now, the direct payment obligation lands on the buyer. If the seller chooses not to offer concessions, the buyer pays their agent out of pocket, on top of the down payment.

In a higher-rate environment, where affordability is already stretched, this is not a neutral change. The pattern is that structural shifts in who writes the check do not necessarily change who ultimately bears the cost. The seller sets the asking price. The buyer negotiates. The agent gets paid regardless of which pocket the money comes from.

What has genuinely changed is the timing. The buyer broker agreement must be signed before touring a home ^[4]. Written agreements are required for both in-person and live virtual home tours ^[4]. You do not need a written agreement if you are just speaking to an agent at an open house or asking about services ^[4]. The agent compensation must be specific, meaning a dollar amount, flat fee, percentage, or hourly rate, not an open-ended formulation like whatever the seller is offering ^[4].

This means that before you know which home you want to buy, before you know what the seller is willing to chip in toward your closing costs, before you know whether you can afford to pay your agent separately, you must sign a contract that commits you to a specific compensation amount. The transparency benefit is real. The binding nature of that transparency, happening before you have full information, is the structural gap the settlement does not resolve.

Why Does This Keep Happening?

The Department of Justice filed its statement of interest in the Sitzer/Burnett suit on November 24, 2024, less than 48 hours before final approval ^[5]. The DOJ did not participate in the litigation or in the negotiation of the proposed settlement ^[5]. The DOJ challenged the settlement provision requiring buyers to enter into written agreements prior to touring a home, stating it raises independent concerns under the antitrust laws ^[5]. The DOJ wrote that the buyer broker agreement requirement could limit how brokers compete for clients and bears a close resemblance to prior restrictions among competitors that courts have found to violate the antitrust laws in other proceedings ^[5].

The DOJ also noted that approval of the settlement does not prevent ongoing antitrust violations, does not remedy past violations, and does not contemplate practices that fully comply with the antitrust laws ^[5]. Compliance with the proposed settlement or new NAR rules affords no defense to any future enforcement actions ^[5].

This is the part that gets lost in the settlement coverage. The class action was filed by sellers, not buyers. The settlement was negotiated between NAR and seller plaintiffs. The buyer, whose costs increased as a direct result of the settlement, was not at the table. The structural answer to why this keeps happening is that the people who bear the cost were not the people who filed the lawsuit.

NAR General Counsel Jon Waclawski said the settlement reflects the reality that settlements are manifestations of tradeoffs and is in line with the law and court precedent ^[3]. He noted that appeals are a routine part of complex litigation and that the appellate court decision could come in late summer or early fall of 2026 ^[3]. The settlement appeal does not undo the practice changes which are already in effect and governing nationwide ^[3].

The Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments on January 14, 2026 ^[3]. The decision, when it comes, will concern the validity of the settlement agreement. It will not change the rules currently operating at your closing table.

The Quid Pro Quo Nobody Named

The settlement releases liability of more than 1 million NAR members, all state and territorial REALTOR associations, REALTOR MLSs, NAR affiliate organizations, and all brokerages with NAR member principal with 2022 residential transaction volume of $2 billion or below ^[3]. The plaintiffs, represented by home sellers, secured more than $1 billion in relief ^[3]. The brokerage defendants avoided an open-ended damages exposure from the jury verdict.

Nobody in that negotiation represented the buyer who, starting August 17, 2024, had to sign a compensation agreement before touring a home, and who now faces a direct out-of-pocket obligation that previously sat inside the purchase price.

Real estate agents are not legal experts. The agent sitting across from you at the buyer broker agreement signing is compensated only when the deal closes. That structure creates a real incentive misalignment. Every party has a financial reason to keep the deal moving, even when slowing down or renegotiating the compensation terms would protect the buyer. The agent cannot advise you on contract law, antitrust law, or mortgage finance. The agent's own state association forms say so explicitly.

What This Means for You

The settlement is under appeal. The Eighth Circuit panel that heard arguments on January 14, 2026 will issue a decision sometime in late summer or early fall of 2026 ^[3]. That decision concerns the settlement agreement. It does not roll back the practice changes, which are already in effect and governing nationwide ^[3]. The settlement bars NAR from establishing rules allowing a seller's agent to set compensation for a buyer's agent ^[6]. The buyer broker agreement requirement is here to stay regardless of how the appellate court rules.

The structural issue is that the settlement resolved a seller antitrust claim by changing the rules governing buyer costs, without the buyer at the table. The buyer now pays agent compensation directly, but the seller still sets the price. Whether the ultimate cost is higher, lower, or the same depends on your negotiation. The transparency the agreement requirement creates is real. The binding nature of committing to a compensation amount before you know whether the seller will offer concessions is the actual gap. The practice changes benefit the buyer who shops compensation and negotiates terms before signing. They do not benefit the buyer who signs whatever the agent places in front of them.

What you can do:

Before signing any buyer broker agreement, ask your agent to show you at least three different compensation structures: flat fee, percentage, and hourly. Compare. The amount is fully negotiable and not set by law ^[4].
Ask whether the seller is offering buyer concessions, and ask your agent to show you any compensation offers communicated off MLS before you sign the agreement. Sellers can still offer compensation off MLS ^[4]. You are entitled to know what the seller is offering before you lock in your own obligation.
Request a copy of the buyer broker agreement at least 24 hours before the signing meeting. Read it before you are sitting at a table with your agent. The agreement must include a specific and conspicuous disclosure of the amount or rate of compensation ^[4].
Ask your agent directly: is the compensation in this agreement negotiable after we sign it, or does it lock in for the term of the contract? The settlement prohibits agents from receiving compensation exceeding the amount agreed to with the buyer ^[4], but it does not prohibit you from negotiating a lower amount before you sign.
If you are buying in a higher-rate environment where affordability is tight, factor the buyer broker compensation into your closing cost estimate before you make an offer. The direct payment obligation is new. Budget for it the same way you budget for the appraisal and title insurance.

The NAR settlement changed who sends the check. It did not change who pays in the end. Knowing that before you sign is the difference between a surprised closing cost and a planned one.