How does the buyer Realtor® get paid?

They are paid at closing out of the proceeds of the sale. When the money changes hands it all happens at closing. You will clearly see this on the settlement statement you will receive for your approval prior to closing.

How much are they paid?

Your listing agreement contract contractually defines what the buyer’s Realtor® receives. Basically, you don’t have a contract with the buyer’s Realtor® because you don’t know who it is yet. We use the standard TAR forms as required by Texas Association of Realtors® and that is how the contract is written in our cooperating selling environment.

Why am I paying their commission?

In our industry, the listing agreement contract works like this; 1) you agree to pay your listing broker the percentage commission. 2)  By way of your broker’s agreement with the Realtors® association (ours is MetroTex), The listing broker agrees to pay the buyer’s Realtor® the advertised percentage 3) all fees are paid at the same time at closing. The purpose is to set in writing the expectation of what will be paid to the buyer’s Realtor® to entice them to bring a buyer and to avoid negotiating the buyer’s agent commission at the time when a contract for sale is received.

Where is this stated in the listing agreement?

In our listing agreement, the fee paid defined in 5. A. (1) goes to the buyer’s broker (called “another broker”) as described in paragraph 8.A. and 8.B. The fee is what is advertised for the buyer’s Realtor® to earn. Paragraph 5.A. (1) defines your obligation to your listing broker. Paragraph 8.A and 8.B define your brokers obligation to “another cooperating broker”. That is why it shows the way it does. It is a pass through.

Why 3%?

3% is considered a standard market rate as you can see advertised for the other active properties in any CMA. If you look to the middle left on an Agent Report the Buyer Agent Commission is shown as BAC: 3% (Buyer’s Agent Commission). That is the advertised amount. When listing your home, it does not matter financially to the listing broker what the percentage is because it is a pass through. Even though it is clearly unethical, some buyer agents pass over properties that offer a lower commission or show them reluctantly. In a typical full service listing, 5.A.(1) might be 6% and 8.A. is 3% leaving the spread of 3% for the Listing agent.

Why are buyer agent fees so confusing?

The Real Estate industry is unique and the only industry I am aware of that the Seller sets and pays the representation fee for the Buyer. Our industry compensation system was developed to encourage cooperation between Brokers and promote fairness. With this system cooperating Realtor® can know what earnings to expect without becoming a party to a transaction and negotiating a fee each time they represent a buyer.


Notice: This website contains general information about possible legal and financial matters. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal or financial advice from your attorney, accountant, or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about any legal and financial matter you should consult your attorney, accountant, or other professional legal services provider


Our Track Record

I’m excited to announce that after 18 years of providing dedicated service, our clients have collectively saved over $10,000,000 in commissions! Among these savings are over $1,100,000 for clients who found unrepresented buyers and were able to avoid any selling costs. On top of that, we’ve distributed more than $330,000 in incentive rebates to over 100 satisfied buyers. These remarkable achievements are a true testament to our commitment to providing high-quality, cost-effective real estate services to our clients.

Tod G. Franklin – Realtor®, Broker, Owner, and multi-million dollar producer at DFWCityhomes

DFWCityhomes is an established and highly regarded Flat Fee MLS Listing Service company in Texas. We have been providing dedicated service for almost two decades delivering personalized service to each client. As the best Flat Fee MLS Listing Service in Texas, we offer affordable and excellent service, while our track record showcases our commitment to professionalism, integrity, and customer satisfaction.

Visit our MLS listing comparison chart and Flat Fee MLS Listing Services to see a detailed breakdown of the different plans and their features.

You can Contact Us or call (214)-207-0210 to speak with a Realtor® and find out how we can save you time and money.