Real estate commission in Florida after the NAR settlement
Real estate commission in Florida after the NAR settlement is still negotiable, still paid at closing, and still the largest single cost most sellers face. What changed is where the buyer's side is agreed and who agrees it. Sellers who understand that distinction negotiate better, because they stop treating one number as fixed.
Free Home Valuation
Every situation on this page comes down to a number: what the property is worth and what you would net. We will work both out from recent sales near you, at no cost.
What the settlement actually changed
Before the change, a single figure was commonly published to other agents through the MLS, and buyers rarely saw it discussed.
Now offers of compensation are not published in the MLS. Anything paid to the buyer's side is agreed separately, and often inside the purchase contract itself.
Buyers also sign a written agreement with their own agent before touring, so the buyer's side has its own fee conversation that no longer runs through you by default.
The listing side did not change in the same way. You still agree what your own brokerage charges when you sign the listing agreement.
So a seller now has two questions instead of one: what does my brokerage charge, and am I contributing anything toward the buyer's agent.
Treating those as one number is the most common mistake, because it hides which half is actually being negotiated.
What the settlement did not change
Commission was negotiable before and it is negotiable now. No law, rule or settlement sets a rate in Florida.
There is no standard percentage, no customary figure a brokerage is entitled to, and no requirement that two brokerages be paid the same.
Payment still happens at closing out of proceeds, so nothing comes out of pocket while the property is on the market.
The listing agreement still governs the relationship, including its length, what is included, and what happens if you withdraw.
Your obligation to disclose known defects, and the rest of Florida seller law, is untouched by any of this.
Anyone describing the change as the end of commission is selling something. The structure moved; the cost did not vanish.
How real estate commission in Florida is agreed now
Your listing agreement states what your brokerage charges to market and sell the property, and that is a conversation you have before signing.
Whether you contribute toward the buyer's agent is a second, separate decision, and it can be made when you list or when an offer arrives.
Many buyers now ask for that contribution as part of their offer, in the same way they might ask for a closing cost credit.
That gives you something useful: you can weigh it against price, closing date and contingencies rather than committing to a figure in advance.
It also means two offers at the same price can net you different amounts, so the headline number stopped being a reliable comparison.
A net sheet on each offer is how you compare them honestly, and it is the only method that survives this change intact.
Questions worth asking before you sign
Ask exactly what the brokerage fee covers, in deliverables rather than adjectives, and what is billed separately.
Ask what happens if you cancel, if the property does not sell, or if a buyer you already know comes forward.
Ask how the brokerage will advise you when a buyer requests a contribution toward their agent, and how that gets presented to you.
Ask how offers will be compared, and request to see the comparison as net proceeds rather than contract price.
Ask who specifically handles the listing day to day, since brokerage and individual agent are not the same commitment.
Written answers are better than spoken ones, and a brokerage that will not put its scope in writing has told you something.
Where sellers lose money on this
Choosing on fee alone is the obvious trap, because a lower fee on a worse sale price is a worse outcome.
Choosing on price alone is the same trap wearing a different hat. An agent who agrees with your number to win the listing is not being helpful.
Refusing any contribution toward the buyer's side can narrow your buyer pool, and a narrower pool is a pricing problem in disguise.
Agreeing to a contribution before you have seen a single offer gives away a negotiating position for nothing.
Not reading the listing agreement's term and cancellation language is how sellers end up stuck with a listing that is not working.
Each of these is avoidable, and each costs more than the fee difference people argue about.
What this means for a Palm Beach County sale
Our market runs on a mix of local buyers, seasonal buyers and out of state buyers, and the last group almost always arrives with an agent.
That makes the buyer-side question practical rather than theoretical here, particularly in communities where most purchases are relocations.
Condo and association sales add their own costs on top, so the fee is only one line of several that move your net.
Cash purchases are common in parts of the county, and a cash buyer's agent still has a fee agreement with their client.
None of this argues for a particular answer. It argues for seeing the whole picture before you commit to any part of it.
Ask us for a net sheet on your property and you will see every line, including the ones that have nothing to do with commission.
How the change affects your listing agreement
Your listing agreement is where your own brokerage's compensation is set, and it is a document you can negotiate before signing rather than a form you accept. Read the compensation clause and the term clause together, because the two interact.
The term matters more than sellers expect. A six month exclusive with no cancellation right is a very different commitment from a three month agreement you can exit, and the fee is not the only thing worth negotiating.
Look for a protection period clause, sometimes called a tail. It says the brokerage is still owed compensation if you sell to a buyer they introduced, within a stated window after the agreement ends. That is reasonable in principle and worth understanding in detail.
Check how the agreement handles a buyer you already know. If your neighbour has been asking about the house for a year, a named exclusion is normal and should be raised before you sign, not after.
Since buyer-side compensation is now negotiated per offer, ask how the agreement treats it. Some agreements assume a contribution and some leave it entirely open, and those produce different conversations when an offer arrives.
None of this is unusual or adversarial. It is the same reading you would give any contract that governs the sale of your largest asset, and a brokerage worth hiring expects the questions.
What buyers are being told on the other side
Buyers now sign a written agreement with their agent before touring, which states what that agent will be paid and who is expected to pay it. That document exists whether or not you contribute anything.
Most of those agreements say the buyer owes the fee, and that any amount received from the seller reduces what the buyer pays directly. So a contribution from you is a credit against their obligation rather than a windfall.
That is why a buyer asking for a contribution is not necessarily negotiating hard. They may simply be trying to fund an obligation they have already signed up to, using the only source of funds available in the transaction.
It also explains why some buyers will pay more in price to get a contribution. Price is financed over thirty years; the agent fee is due in cash at closing. Shifting money from the second column to the first genuinely helps them.
Knowing this gives you a negotiating position rather than a grievance. A counter that raises price while granting the contribution can leave you better off and the buyer better off at the same time.
Your agent should be able to explain what the buyer's side is working with. If they cannot, they are not close enough to the current market to be advising you on it.
This page explains how the money side of a Florida sale works so you can plan around it. It is not legal or tax advice. Tax on your sale belongs with an accountant, and the legal effect of your contract belongs with a Florida attorney. What we can give you is an accurate figure for what your home is worth and what you would net, which is the input both of those conversations need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is real estate commission still negotiable in Florida?
- Yes. Commission has always been negotiable in Florida and still is. No statute, rule or settlement sets a rate, and no brokerage is entitled to a particular figure. What you pay your own brokerage is agreed in the listing agreement before you sign it.
- Do I still have to pay the buyer's agent?
- You are not required to. Offers of compensation are no longer published in the MLS, so any contribution toward the buyer's side is negotiated separately, often as a term inside the purchase contract. Many buyers ask for it; whether you agree is your decision and it can wait until you see the offer.
- Will refusing to pay a buyer's agent hurt my sale?
- It can narrow your buyer pool, because a buyer who owes their own agent a fee has to fund it from somewhere. That does not mean you should agree automatically. It means you should weigh the request against price and terms on each offer rather than deciding in advance.
- How do I compare two offers now that compensation varies?
- Compare them as net proceeds, not contract price. Two offers at the same price can leave you with different amounts once contributions, concessions and closing costs are applied. Ask for a written net sheet on each one before you respond to either.
- When is commission actually paid?
- At closing, out of the sale proceeds. Nothing is paid while the property is on the market, and nothing comes out of pocket up front. If the property does not sell, no commission is earned, though you should still read your listing agreement's cancellation terms.
- Does any of this change what I have to disclose?
- No. Florida seller disclosure obligations are unaffected. You still have to disclose known material defects that are not readily observable, and the rest of your obligations under the contract are unchanged by how compensation is structured.
More in this guide
Should I offer a buyer agent commission as a seller?
Should I offer a buyer agent commission as a seller? What changed, what it costs you, what it buys you, and how to decide offer by offer instead of in advance.
1% vs 2.5% vs 3% listing fee: net proceeds compared
1% vs 2.5% vs 3% listing fee compared as net proceeds on a Palm Beach County sale, plus the scope questions that decide whether a lower fee is actually cheaper.
Seller net sheet: what you actually walk away with
A seller net sheet for Palm Beach County shows what you keep, not what you sell for. Every line that moves the number, and how to compare offers with it.
From the Journal
Home Selling Tips
How to Negotiate Realtor Commission in Florida: What to Ask and What You Trade Off
Home Selling Tips
Real Estate Commission on a Luxury Home in Palm Beach: How Fees Work at $5M+
Home Selling Tips
Where Does the Commission Go? How a Real Estate Commission Split Works in a Florida Home Sale
Work out your numbers
What is my home worth?
A valuation built from closed sales in your own community, with the comparables named.
Estimate your net proceeds
Work the commission, documentary stamps and closing costs against your own number.
Current market reports
Prices, days on market and inventory for the counties we cover, updated monthly.
How we list a home
What we do between the listing agreement and the closing table, phase by phase.
Talk It Through
Tell us the situation and we will tell you what it is worth
Most of what makes a sale complicated is solvable once somebody has looked at the actual numbers. Onias Derilus is a licensed Florida broker and there is no cost to a conversation, whether you list this month or next year.
Keep Reading
Related seller guides
- Seller closing costs in Palm Beach County, line by line
- Seller concessions and closing cost credits
- Seller net sheet: what you actually walk away with
- Who pays for title insurance in Palm Beach County
- Florida seller disclosures, inspections and insurance
- Selling a house as-is in Florida: what it really means
- Florida flood disclosure for home sellers
- 4-point and wind mitigation inspections for sellers
- Selling a home with an old roof in Florida
- Open permits and code violations before closing