Bay Area buyer’s agent commission in 2026 is still 2.5%
Who pays the buyer’s agent after the NAR settlement? On 9 of our last 10 Bay Area deals in 2026, the seller did, at 2.5%. One paid 3%.
The NAR lawsuit
In October 2023, a jury in Missouri found that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and some of the biggest brokerages in the country had worked together to keep commissions high, and it hit them with a $1.8 billion verdict. NAR settled a few months later for $418 million and agreed to change its rules, and in August 2026 an appeals court upheld the deal.12
Two rules changed in August 2024. A seller’s agent can no longer post what the buyer’s agent will get paid on the MLS, where homes get listed. And a buyer now has to sign an agreement with their agent before touring a home, with the agent’s pay written into it.
The headlines said the 6% commission was dead and that buyers would start paying their own agents. Except that’s not what happened.3 Sellers can still pay the buyer’s agent, it's just now a term in the offer.
Who pays the buyer's agent in the Bay Area now?
The seller still does, and it’s still 2.50%. In our experience, that’s what Bay Area Realtors generally get paid per side. No law sets that number and it’s always negotiable, but it’s what sellers keep agreeing to.
Is it 2.5% or 3%?
On 9 of our last 10 Bay Area transactions this year, the seller paid our brokerage 2.50%. The one exception was a Redfin listing that had sat on the market for an unusually long time, so the sellers were offering 3.00%.
In all 10, our clients got 85% of our commission back.
How much is a 2.5% commission in dollars?
On a $2 million home, 2.5% is $50,000, and on a $3 million home it’s $75,000. That’s what the buyer’s agent gets paid on a single sale.
What if the seller won’t pay the buyer’s agent?
Then it’s on you. The agreement you sign with your agent has their pay written into it, and California’s Department of Real Estate says that if the seller turns you down and you still buy the home, you’re responsible for paying your agent.4 So read that number before you sign, because it’s negotiable. On our last 10 deals it never came up since all 10 sellers paid.
How does the 85% commission rebate work?
We keep 15% of the buyer’s agent commission and the other 85% goes back to you. It comes at closing, either as a credit that lowers the cash you need to close or as a wire the same day. On a $3 million home at 2.5%, that’s $63,750 back to you and $11,250 to us.
If you’re buying in the Bay Area, book a 15-minute discovery call.
