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Despite fears that commissions would face downward pressure in the wake of the National Association of Realtors’ antitrust lawsuit settlement terms going into effect, rates have largely remained steady, according to an AccountTECH analysis that tracks closely with findings from October’s Inman Intel Index.
Seller agent commissions actually improved modestly on an annual basis, according to AccountTECH’s study, with seller agents receiving an average commission rate of 2.77 percent in the 30 days after the Aug. 17 settlement, up from 2.75 percent during those same 30 days in 2023. In the 60 days after the settlement, seller agents saw an average commission of 2.738 percent, up from 2.724 percent during those same 60 days in 2023.
Meanwhile, buyer agents saw minimal declines in their commission rates. During the 30 days following the settlement, buyer agents earned an average commission of 2.545 percent, down from 2.595 percent during the same 30-day period in 2023. Over the 60 days following the settlement, buyer agents earned an average commission of 2.486 percent, down from 2.541 percent during the same 60 days in 2023.
For its analysis, AccountTECH reviewed data from 625 real estate offices, reviewing transactions where the date the sales transaction went under agreement was within 60 days of the Aug. 17 settlement deadline. The total number of buyer side transactions that went pending during the 60-day period by the 625 real estate offices analyzed was 17,358, down slightly from 19,274 buyer side transactions during the same period in 2023.
As of late September, 45 percent of agents told Inman Intel that they had not yet seen a reduction in commissions.
In addition, fewer than 11 percent of active homesellers told Intel in early October that they were taking a firm stance against covering the buyer’s agent commissions while just 9 percent of agents reported that a significant share of sellers were taking a hardline approach against covering the buyer’s agent fee.
Early findings from an Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey on the buy-side of the transaction show a bit more desire for negotiation from consumers, however.
Nearly 1 in 5 active homebuyers in early October said they agreed to pay only 1.5 percent or less of the home purchase price to their buyer’s agent, according to the Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey. Similarly, just under 19 percent of buyers told Intel they were successful in negotiating their buyer-side commission downwards with their agent.
The Inman Intel Index survey was conducted from Sept. 18-Oct. 4, 2024, and received 441 responses from Inman readers. The Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey was conducted from Oct. 4-6, 2024, and sampled a diverse group of 3,000 American adults from age 24 to 65.
The annual decline in buyer-side transactions that AccountTECH’s survey found is something to watch in the year ahead, the real estate accounting software company noted, even though the decline in transactions could just as likely be a result of interest rates, inventory or other economic conditions as it could be a result of the NAR settlement.
For now, the decline in buyer-side commissions is also within the range of “normal market variation,” AccountTECH said. But it is something that analysts and other industry stakeholders will want to keep an eye on.
“Industry watchers should keep tracking this number closely since a continuation of this two-month trend of 0.05 percent decrease per month would bring commission rates on the buyer side to 2 percent by June 2025,” AccountTECH’s report said.
