Despite a small commission reduction after the NAR settlement, agents are approaching a conversation about compensation, according to the latest Intel Index survey data.
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It’s been almost six months since a change in new real estate practices sparked the groundbreaking antitrust settlement that shook the industry.
It is now a thing of the past that the homeseller agrees to pay the seller’s agent a fee, and that the cooperative compensation will then be shared with the buyer’s agent. The committees have always been negotiable, but the agent fees and transparency in negotiations surrounding them are at the forefront and center of the transaction.
After working under mostly assumed rules for a long time, many agents were worried about how changes in practice could negatively affect future committees. Will the seller refuse to pay the buyer’s agent committee? Are buyers willing to earn tips to pay agents? Will the Agent Committee be completely tanks? These are some of the questions Inman Intel is tracking.
Recent findings of 652 Inman Leaders voted in January have approached conversations that suggest that many agents have been approaching the conversation surrounding commission compensation since the NAR settlement rules came into effect. It shows that. . That may also mean that agents find a stronger foothold to perform confidently in their business on a daily basis.
Buyers continue to try lower fees
The majority of agents voted by Intel in January say that future buyer clients have not tried to negotiate lower fees in recent months. That said, a sustained number of buyers continue to try and negotiate at a lower price than typical in the market.
66% of agents who voted said no buyers have tried to negotiate a low fee for the committee in the past three months. Thirty-four percent of survey respondents said at least some buyers tried to negotiate a lower price.
More and more agents are seeing a small number of, but significant, buyers fishing somewhere between 10-50% of buyers to pay less fees.
In January, 9% of agents were sorted into this category, with some categories trying to negotiate less buyers, although not overwhelming. In contrast, only 7% of agents reported the same amount of negotiations in December. Back in August, that figure was just 4%.
These trends also track recent research commissioned by Redfin. This was the trigger for the NAR settlement, which found that over half of the agents were negotiating the negotiations more frequently by buyers and sellers. The survey also found that in the fourth quarter of 2024, buyer agents averaged 2.37%, down from 2.45% the previous year.
Sellers are curious, but open minded about buyer committees
The stable share of homesellers continues to show curiosity about whether it is necessary to cover a committee of buyer agents to adapt to new industry standards.
Three-quarters of agents surveyed in the Intel Index in January asked at least one client in the past three months if they needed to cover the agent’s fees for the buyer. 29% of agent respondents said that over half of sellers asked if it was mandatory. 27% of agents thought that less than 10% of the seller’s clients would have to pay the buyer’s agent’s fees.
However, when the seller actually comes down to whether he is willing to pay the buyer’s agent’s fees, only about a third of agent respondents who refused to cover the buyer’s agent’s fees are the seller I was faced with. Luckily, most agents who encountered such “hardline” sellers said they made up less than 10% of the sellers’ clients.
Despite pressure from the lower committee, agents appear to have less anxiety in negotiations
Buyers and sellers continue to show increased curiosity and awareness about the downward negotiability of the buyer’s agent committee, so agents are reflected in how they approach the buyer’s agent transaction. It appears to be gradually adapting to this new landscape with an uneasy mindset.
Most agents surveyed by Intel in January are still reaching out to real estate listing agents to check the buy side committee whenever possible before clients submit offers. But more and more agents are taking an approach that involves a small leap in faith.
53% of agents reach out to their listing agents to ask about the buyer’s agent committee before the buyer submits an offer. Without asking the seller’s agent in advance, 34% of the agents encourage clients to submit offers that require the seller to cover the buyer’s agent’s full fee, and ultimately seller Learn how you feel about it when negotiations are taken.
The number of agents categorized into this latter category has been waiting to see how negotiations will take place over the past six months as the number of listing agents and checked-in agents initially fell conservatively. Masu.
In August, 63% of buyer agent respondents said they asked listing agents about the buy-side committee before their client made the offer. That same month, only 21% of agents encourage clients to submit offers that require sellers to cover the agent’s fees without knowing their attitude towards the issue in advance. I replied.
It seems that home buyers, home sellers and agents themselves are all continuing to find their way into a new normal. Also, the downward pressure on the committee may not be reconciliation alone. Consumers are stressed in their wallets as home prices continue to rise across the country. It could also continue to feel the stress of that as the recent impact of tariffs on Canada and Mexico begins. To get closer to the house.
Methodology Note: This month’s Inman Intel Index survey was conducted on January 21st. 4, 2025, 652 responses were received. The entire Inman Leader community was invited to participate, and spinning randomized selections of community members were encouraged to participate via email. Users answered a series of questions related to the corners of self-identification in the real estate industry, including real estate agents, brokerage leaders, lenders, and proptech entrepreneurs. The results reflect the opinions of the engaged Inman community. This survey is conducted monthly.
Email Lillian Dickerson
