As of August 17, 2024, two new commission rules apply to nearly every home sale in the country. First, a buyer's agent's pay can no longer be advertised on the multiple listing service, the shared database agents use to post homes for sale. Second, a buyer has to sign a written agreement with their agent, one that states that agent's fee in plain numbers, before being shown a single house. Commissions stay negotiable, the way they always legally were. What moved is where the fee gets set and who has to put a name on it.
For most of the time we've watched homes trade hands around here, the buyer's-agent share was a number quietly baked into the listing and rarely said out loud. That part is finished. The fee is still there. It just has to be talked about now, in writing, before anyone unlocks a front door.
What actually changed on August 17, 2024?
The changes come from a legal settlement, not a new statute. In 2024 the National Association of Realtors agreed to pay $418 million and rewrite its rules to resolve a group of antitrust lawsuits (the lead case, Sitzer/Burnett, came out of a Missouri jury). The practical result is the two rules above: no offers of buyer-agent compensation posted on the MLS, and a signed buyer agreement required before showings.
What the settlement does not do matters just as much. It sets no cap, no floor, no standard rate. It does not stop a seller from helping pay the buyer's agent. It pulls that number off the MLS and forces it into a conversation, where it gets negotiated like every other term of the deal.
| Before Aug 17, 2024 | Now | |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer-agent pay on the MLS | Posted as an offer of compensation | Not allowed on the MLS |
| Written buyer agreement | Not required to tour a home | Required before the first showing |
| Seller paying the buyer's agent | Offered through the MLS | Still allowed, negotiated off-MLS as a concession |
| Commission rate | Negotiable (custom ran about 5-6%) | Still negotiable, no set rate |
By now this is standard practice across the MLSs agents use, including the one that lists everything from a Historic District cottage to a marsh-front lot out toward Yulee. The forms are signed earlier, and the buyer's fee is no longer something you discover at the closing table.
Are real estate commissions still around 5 to 6 percent?
Commissions were never fixed at 5 or 6 percent by any rule, and they still are not. That range was a long-running custom, not a law, and nothing in the settlement caps it or sets a floor. Total fees on a local sale still commonly land somewhere between 5 and 6 percent of the price, but every slice of that is open to negotiation, and more of it now gets settled in daylight instead of assumed.
The bigger shift is who is footing which side, and that one comes with real dollars attached. We work the math on a typical Amelia Island sale in a separate post on whether the buyer or the seller pays realtor fees. That is the place to sort out the split.
What does the written buyer agreement mean in Florida?
In Florida, you now sign a written buyer broker agreement before an agent tours you through a home, and it sits next to the brokerage relationship disclosure the state already required under Chapter 475. By default, Florida agents work as transaction brokers, a limited and neutral role, unless you and the agent agree in writing to a single-agent relationship. The new agreement makes the buyer's-side fee explicit and signed before the showings start.
Read it the way you would read any contract with a number on it. Check how long it runs, whether it ties you to one agent or to any agent in the office, what the fee is, and what happens to that fee if the seller agrees to cover some or all of it. When we sit down with a buyer at Salt Harbor Real Estate, that document is the first thing we walk through, line by line, before we go look at anything.
One thing the rule does not do is lock you out of looking. You can still wander an open house hosted by the listing agent, or drive the neighborhoods off Sadler Road on your own, without signing anything. The written agreement kicks in once an agent starts working for you and opening doors on your behalf. It can be short, and it can be written to cover a single property or a single day if that is all you have decided. What it cannot be anymore, anywhere in Nassau County or the rest of the country, is unspoken.
Frequently asked questions
What is the new law regarding realtor fees?
It is not technically a law. The changes come from a 2024 antitrust settlement with the National Association of Realtors, approved by a federal court and effective August 17, 2024. It bars buyer-agent pay from being advertised on the MLS and requires buyers to sign a written agreement with their agent before touring a home.
Are realtors still getting 6% commission?
Sometimes, but no rule sets that figure. Commissions have always been negotiable, and the settlement neither caps nor mandates any rate. Total fees on a sale often still run about 5 to 6 percent of the price, but each side's share is now negotiated openly rather than assumed.
What is the lowest commission a realtor will take?
There is no legal minimum. Commissions are fully negotiable and vary by agent, brokerage, and level of service. Some agents discount, some offer flat fees, and some hold firm. The new rules require the buyer's-side fee to be put in writing up front, which makes that number easier to negotiate.
What is the 3-3-3 rule in real estate?
The 3-3-3 rule is an informal budgeting guideline, not a regulation, and it has nothing to do with the 2024 commission changes. Versions vary, but it generally nudges buyers to keep housing costs modest relative to their income and savings before buying.