If you are selling a home in 2026, one of the most important rule changes in a generation affects how buyer-agent compensation works — and where it can and cannot appear. As of August 17, 2024, following the National Association of REALTORS® antitrust settlement (often called the Sitzer-Burnett settlement), offers of compensation to a buyer's agent can no longer be advertised anywhere on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). That single change reshaped how commissions are discussed, displayed, and negotiated across the country.
This guide explains, in plain language, what the rule actually says, what you can no longer put on the MLS, what is still permitted, and how sellers — including for-sale-by-owner and flat-fee sellers — handle buyer-agent compensation today. It is educational information only and is not legal, financial, tax, or real estate advice. The rules are set and enforced by each MLS and continue to evolve, and the details vary by MLS and by state, so the authoritative sources for your situation are your specific MLS's rules and a licensed real estate attorney. ListMyHomes.com is a licensed brokerage that acts only as a neutral facilitator; it does not negotiate compensation, advise on terms, or draft contracts on your behalf.
What Changed in August 2024
In 2023 and 2024, a series of antitrust lawsuits challenged the long-standing practice of advertising buyer-agent commission offers directly on the MLS. The National Association of REALTORS® reached a settlement that, among other things, required MLSs nationwide to stop allowing offers of compensation to buyer brokers to be published in the MLS. The practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024, and apply broadly across MLSs in all states and to brokerages of every kind, not just REALTOR®-affiliated firms operating through a participating MLS.
The core idea behind the change is to decouple the buyer agent's pay from the listing itself, so that buyer-broker compensation is negotiated directly and transparently between the buyer and their own agent, rather than being broadcast as a take-it-or-leave-it figure attached to the property. This is a meaningful shift from how the market operated for decades, and it is the reason you will no longer see a buyer-agent commission listed alongside a home on the MLS.
What You Can No Longer Put on the MLS
Under the rule, no offer of compensation to a buyer's broker may appear in any MLS field. That prohibition is broad: it covers a percentage commission, a flat dollar amount, a bonus, or any other form of payment offered to the agent representing the buyer. It also applies regardless of where in the listing the information would sit — public remarks, private or agent-only remarks, photo captions, attached documents and PDFs, and any other MLS field are all covered.
Just as important, you cannot use coded or indirect language to get around the rule. Phrases that hint at compensation — such as 'ask the listing agent about compensation,' 'buyer-agent compensation negotiable,' or similar workarounds — are treated as prohibited offers of compensation on the MLS. The intent is that the MLS listing stays silent on buyer-broker pay entirely, with that conversation moved off the MLS. If you are listing through any MLS, assume that anything resembling an offer of buyer-agent compensation does not belong anywhere in the listing record.
Seller Concessions Are Not the Same as Broker Compensation
This is the nuance that trips people up, and it is where a lot of online explanations are imprecise. The settlement prohibits offers of compensation to buyer brokers on the MLS. It did not ban a seller from offering general concessions to the buyer. Many MLSs added a dedicated 'seller concessions' field where a seller can offer a dollar amount or percentage toward the buyer's costs — money the buyer can apply to closing costs, rate buydowns, or other expenses at their discretion — as long as it is not framed or earmarked as buyer-broker compensation.
In other words, 'I'll contribute toward the buyer's closing costs' is generally a different thing from 'I'll pay the buyer's agent a commission,' and the two are treated very differently by MLS rules. Because the specifics of what a concessions field allows — and how it must be worded — vary from one MLS to the next, this is exactly the kind of detail to confirm with your MLS and a real estate attorney before you rely on it. Do not assume a concession can be quietly redirected to a buyer's agent; that can cross back into prohibited territory.
How Sellers Can Still Offer Buyer-Agent Compensation
Offering to help pay a buyer's agent is still legal — it simply cannot be advertised on the MLS. Sellers who choose to offer buyer-agent compensation now do so through direct, off-MLS negotiation, memorialized in a written agreement separate from the MLS listing. Compensation can be raised once a buyer or their agent makes contact, discussed as part of an offer, or addressed in the purchase agreement and related documents — all outside the MLS record.
Because these arrangements are legally binding and the correct form and language depend on your state and your transaction, the appropriate parties to prepare or review them are a licensed real estate attorney and your title or settlement company. ListMyHomes.com does not draft custom contract language, hold funds, or negotiate compensation on anyone's behalf — doing so would fall outside its role as a neutral facilitator (and drafting custom legal documents is the unauthorized practice of law). The platform's role is to help you list and connect; the compensation agreement itself is handled directly between the parties with their own professional advisors.
Why the Rule Exists and What the Penalties Are
The change grew out of antitrust litigation arguing that publishing buyer-agent commission offers on the MLS reduced competition and kept commission rates artificially high. Removing those offers from the MLS is meant to encourage buyers and their agents to negotiate compensation openly, the way other professional fees are negotiated. Whether you agree with the policy or not, it is now the operating reality of nearly every MLS in the country.
Enforcement runs through the MLSs, which can impose fines on the participating brokerage for violations — often cited in the range of up to several thousand dollars per violation, with the exact amount and process set by each MLS's own rules. Because the brokerage is the party fined, expect any brokerage you list through to take the rule seriously and to keep compensation language out of the listing entirely. If you ever see buyer-agent compensation displayed on an MLS-sourced listing, that is a sign something is out of compliance, not a loophole to copy.
What This Means for FSBO and Flat-Fee Sellers
For sellers using a flat-fee or for-sale-by-owner approach, the settlement is, if anything, a tailwind. It reinforces the idea that buyer-agent compensation is a separate, negotiable line item rather than a fixed cost baked into every sale — which is the same logic behind paying a flat fee to get listed instead of a percentage commission. You decide whether to offer anything toward a buyer's agent, and if you do, you negotiate it directly rather than advertising it.
Practically, that means: keep your MLS listing free of any buyer-agent compensation language; if you want to attract agent-represented buyers, be prepared to discuss compensation directly when an agent reaches out, using a written agreement reviewed by your attorney; and consider whether a transparent seller concession toward the buyer's costs fits your strategy, confirming first that your MLS permits it and how it must be worded. This guide is educational only and not legal advice — confirm the current rules with your MLS and a licensed real estate attorney before making decisions about compensation on your sale.
ListMyHomes.com is a licensed brokerage that acts only as a neutral facilitator and does not provide legal, financial, tax, or appraisal advice. Figures are illustrations, not advice; consult a licensed professional for your specific situation.