Approximately two-thirds of agents reported no significant changes to their fee levels since the 2024 NAR settlement, according to a new report.
Nearly two years after the National Association of Realtors’ landmark fee settlement introduced new rules and restructured how agents are paid, most real estate agents say their fees have not changed meaningfully, and the data increasingly reflects that reality.
According to a survey conducted by Cotality and ResiClub between February and March, about two-thirds of agents reported no significant change in their fee levels since the 2024 settlement. Most of the 213 agent respondents had been in the industry for at least eight years, said ResiClub co-founder Lance Lambert.
The results are consistent with an increase in data pointing in the same direction. According to Redfin data shared late last year, buyer agent fees recovered after an initial post-settlement dip, rising from 2.36% in Q3 2024 to 2.42% in Q3 2025.
Inman Intel also previously reported that fees remained largely unchanged through the first full year under the new rules, in part because sellers were now more likely to pay buyer-side fees, not less.
“What I saw when I surveyed the agencies was that we didn’t see much change after the NAR settlement,” Lambert told Inman. “Some of them say it’s gone up a little bit. Some say it’s gone down a little bit. But in general, most people say it hasn’t changed much.”
Lambert said the findings should be treated as directional, but noted that transaction-level data is telling as well.
“We don’t want to rely solely on survey data,” he said. “But if there really is a big change, it’s going to be at least a bigger change than what we’re seeing now.”
More pressure on buyer compensation
While most agents report little overall change, pressure has increased in certain parts of their business. Approximately 34% of agents said that since the settlement, buyer compensation has felt the most burdensome than any other category. Negotiations then took place between sellers (30%) and buyers (19%), with remuneration for the listing party (17%) being the least of concern.
This buyer-side pressure is playing out against a backdrop of historically low home sales turnover. Considering population growth, resale sales over the past three years have been the lowest in more than 40 years and remain sluggish, with agents competing for a shrinking pool of deals.
Lambert suggested that some of the focus on fees reflects broader affordability pressures than the direct impact of the settlement.
“You have very burdensome affordability,” he said. “Politicians are under pressure, so they’re looking for scapegoats. One of them, early in this period, was the agents themselves and their committees.”
Population decline may already be underway
Despite the increased pressure on buyer agents, Lambert said the industry may have already absorbed much of the disruption that many expected after the settlement.
A prolonged deal drought has accelerated agent attrition, especially among new entrants who joined during the pandemic boom. However, the selection appears to be stabilizing now. 92% of agents surveyed expect to remain in the industry for at least three more years, and 83% say five years or more.
Lambert noted that the survey was biased towards more experienced agents, with about 80% having been in the industry for eight years or more, which may partially explain the high retention outlook. Still, he said broader signals apply.
“The industry’s population decline is probably starting to level off,” he says. “The silver lining for the industry is that much of what’s coming may already be happening.”
So far, the committee appears to be more resilient to rapid change than most expected.
“From an honest economic observation, I think there is some degree of resilience,” Lambert said. “They went through this period of hardship, but it wasn’t the earth-shaking change that was predicted when the settlement occurred.”
Where fees go from here remains an open question, one Lambert said, and it’s really hard to predict. But for agents navigating the market today, the reality appears to be much closer to gradual development than the sweeping reset many were expecting.
Email AJ Latrace
