Why today’s market is driving up buyer agent commissions
The average buyer agent commission was 2.42% in Q3 — up from 2.36% last year after the NAR settlement took effect, according to a new Redfin data analysis.
Buyer agent commissions took a hit when NAR implemented new rules in August 2024, but they quickly rebounded — and remain elevated more than a year later, a new report suggests.
The average U.S. buyer agent commission was 2.42% in the third quarter of 2025 — a tick lower than 2.43% in the second quarter but significantly higher than a year ago, when the average commission was 2.36%, according to an analysis of Redfin data published on Dec. 8.
Why commissions are up: Now that homebuyers have more market leverage, there's been little impetus to move away from the industry's traditional system in which sellers pay both the buyer and listing agent commissions.
"If demand were high and homes were selling fast, I think we would see more sellers offering a lower commission to buyer's agents," said Beth Behling, a Redfin Premier agent in Chicago, in a news release accompanying the data.
"But now the market is much slower, and buyers have negotiating power over sellers," Behling added. "If anything, buyers can ask for a higher commission for their agents knowing they may be the only offer on the table."
Higher fee percentages on lower-priced homes: Commission rates for buyer agents vary depending on the price of the home.
Buyer agents of homes that sold for under $500,000 in the third quarter commanded higher percentage commissions, averaging 2.52%. This was consistent with the average percentage that buyer agents were paid in Q2 and up slightly from 2.5% in Q1.
For homes that sold for at least $1 million, the average buyer agent commission rate was 2.22% — a small uptick from 2.21% in Q2 and 2.19% in Q1.
Will this trend continue? A market shift favoring sellers could change the equation if sellers begin demanding lower buyer commission rates or insist that buyers pay for their own agents. But there is still more work to be done to truly separate commission fees, according to Consumer Policy Center researchers who recently found that most buyer agents ask for 2.5-3% of a home's final sale price.