General

Does a buyer's agent cost me money now that the rules changed?

Answered by Allen Markel, REALTOR®, Texas Premier Realty · Published September 26, 2026

Short answer

The rule change did not create a new cost; it changed when the conversation happens. Texas law now requires a written agreement with a buyer's agent before touring a home, stating the compensation and disclosing that it is negotiable, and offers of compensation can no longer appear in the MLS. So buyer-agent pay is negotiated openly, often with the seller at the time the offer is made. The buyer has always been responsible for their own agent, and the money has usually been collected from the seller side at closing where possible. Because the listing agent works for the seller, a buyer who wants their own representation hires an agent by signing a written buyer's representation agreement.

Two things, and they come from different sources. First, the MLS side: Texas REALTORS reports that offers of compensation from sellers or listing brokers to buyer's brokers can no longer appear anywhere on an MLS platform, with all MLSs required to comply by August 17, 2024. Listing brokers may still make offers of compensation outside the MLS, such as on signage or websites or in direct communications, if the seller authorizes it, per the same source.

Second, Texas law: Occupations Code Sec. 1101.563, effective January 1, 2026, requires a license holder who performs any act of real estate brokerage for a prospective buyer of residential property to have a written agreement with the buyer before showing any residential property (or, if none will be shown, before presenting an offer). The agreement must state the services, the termination date, whether the buyer may work with other agents, whether the agent represents the buyer, and the amount or rate of compensation and how it is determined, and it must disclose in conspicuous language that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. A showing-only agreement cannot bar the buyer from other agents and cannot run more than fourteen days. Texas REALTORS notes open houses are excluded from the requirement.

Under the TREC contract, brokerage compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable, and each party pays their respective broker under separate written agreements (Paragraph 12B of Form 20-19). The form then lets the seller pay an amount or percentage of the sales price toward what the buyer owes the buyer's broker (12B(1)), and lets the buyer pay toward what the seller owes the listing broker (12B(2)). Those contributions are applied to, and do not change, the parties' obligations under their own agreements.

In practice: you sign a buyer agreement that states what your agent is paid. If the seller agrees to contribute, the offer says so, and the contribution is paid at closing and applied toward your agent's compensation. If the seller does not contribute, you owe the agreed amount under your agreement. Texas REALTORS also states that a buyer's broker may not be paid more, from any source, than the amount or rate in the written buyer agreement.

Because this is a legal-education topic, read your own agreement, and ask your agent to walk you through it before you sign.

What I tell my clients

The rule change did not change who is responsible for the buyer's agent. It changed when the conversation happens. Buyer-agent compensation now has to be negotiated with the seller at the time the offer is made, and that did not happen this way before.

How the money is processed has not changed much. The buyer has always been responsible for their own agent, and it has always been collected from the seller first where possible.

Here is the part that matters most: you need to hire an agent to represent you. A REALTOR cannot open doors for you, meaning show you homes, until you hire them, and you hire them by signing what is called a buyer's representation agreement. In Texas you sign it before you tour a home.

Think about it this way. If you go to court for a divorce, or for anything major in your life, you do not use the same attorney as the other side. You get your own representation. Real estate works the same way. Get your own representation. It works in your favor.

The listing agent was hired by the seller. If you talk directly to the listing agent and try to negotiate, that agent is not representing your interest. They are representing the seller, because that is who hired and pays them, and they are legally obligated to do it. If they did not, the seller could sue their own agent.

One more thing to know about the big home-search websites, and even many lenders. Most of them make their money by selling your inquiry as a lead to an agent or a lender, and that agent or lender pays for it. Those referral fees can run as high as 40 percent or more of what the agent earns on the deal. That is one reason the commission number you see is not what an agent takes home: referral fees, the brokerage split and the cost of running a business come out before the agent is paid. It changes from one site to the next. Some send you to the listing agent, who paid to be featured. Others send you to an agent who paid for your lead. Either way, somebody has usually paid for that introduction, and it is worth knowing that before you decide whom to call.

Common follow-up questions

Do I have to sign something before a Texas agent shows me a house?

Yes. Under Texas Occupations Code Sec. 1101.563, a license holder must have a written agreement with the prospective buyer before showing residential property. Open houses are excluded, per Texas REALTORS.

Can the seller still pay my agent?

Yes, by negotiation. Paragraph 12B(1) of TREC Form 20-19 lets the seller pay a dollar amount or percentage toward the buyer's broker's compensation, applied to what you owe under your buyer agreement.

Why can't I see the buyer agent commission in the MLS?

Under the NAR settlement rules Texas REALTORS describes, offers of compensation to buyer brokers may not appear anywhere on an MLS platform. Offers can still be made outside the MLS with seller authorization.

Sources

Talk it through with Allen

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Does a buyer's agent cost me money now that the rules changed?

Short answer

Common follow-up questions

Sources

Talk it through with Allen

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