Despite new rules designed to shake up how agents are paid, real estate commissions a year later remain largely unchanged, a new Redfin report reveals.
Effective Aug. 17, 2024, the changes upended decades of practice in which both the buyer’s and seller’s agents were typically paid from the seller’s proceeds, splitting a 5% to 6% commission on the home price. Under the new rules, buyers must negotiate and agree to their agent’s fees before starting their home search.
In theory, the changes were meant to give buyers more flexibility in how they pay for an agent’s services, offering a bargaining chip to help lower costs.
In practice, most commissions are still being covered by sale proceeds, according to a previous Redfin report. After dipping in late 2024, average buyer’s agent fees have returned to roughly historical norms — undercutting the negotiating power the rule change was meant to give buyers.
The average U.S. buyer’s agent commission was 2.43% for homes sold in the second quarter in 2025, up from 2.38% a year earlier, according to Redfin.
