Real Estate Agent Commission: How Much Do Agents Make in 2025?
Most real estate agents get paid through commissions. Commissions are typically calculated as a percentage of a property’s sale price, though some brokerages will charge a flat fee.
Average real estate agent commission rates nationwide have traditionally been around 5.8% of the home sale price, but court-mandated changes in commission and homebuyer rules reshaped these percentages and even shifted who pays Realtor fees.
For generations, the commission has typically been paid by the home seller, and the seller’s agent splits it with the buyer’s agent. But effective August 17, 2024, a court settlement by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) “decouples” seller and buyer agent compensation, giving buyers the responsibility to negotiate commissions directly with their own agent.
However, sellers can still offer to pay both the listing and buyer agent commissions. Such an offer can be used as a strategic concession to attract buyers and speed up a home sale.
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How much do real estate agents make?
If you choose the traditional seller-funded commission option, you can expect to pay your agent between 5% and 6% in commissions when selling a home in 2025, with some variation based on location. On a property worth $400,000, that amounts to $20,000–$24,000 in commission costs.
If you are only covering your listing agent commission, the Realtor fees would be about half that amount ($10,000–$12,000). Your total will depend on the rate you negotiate and whether you offer to pay the buyer’s agent.
Let’s look at how commissions might play out by home price broken out in three ways:
1. If you, as the seller, agree to pay both the listing and buyer agent fees
2. If you only pay a typical 3% listing agent commission
3. What the buyer might pay if they negotiate a 3% commission
For simplicity, we’ll use a 6% commission and show the decoupled buyer and seller fee rates.
Commission examples by home price
| Home price | Combined 6% fee | 3% listing agent fee | 3% buyer’s agent fee |
| $200,000 | $12,000 | $6,000 | $6,000 |
| $300,000 | $18,000 | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| $400,000 | $24,000 | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| $500,000 | $30,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| $600,000 | $36,000 | $18,000 | $18,000 |
| $700,000 | $42,000 | $21,000 | $21,000 |
| $800,000 | $48,000 | $24,000 | $24,000 |
| $900,000 | $54,000 | $27,000 | $27,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $60,000 | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| $1,500,000 | $90,000 | $45,000 | $45,000 |
More real estate agent commission examples
The table below illustrates a wide range of different commission amounts you might pay on a home with a $400,000 selling price, depending on the compensation arrangements of your sale. We’ve started with lower, non-typical fees in case you happen to be working with a low-commission agent. (We’ll share more about discount and limited-service agents later in our post.)
Commission examples on $400,000 home purchase
| Commission rate | Agent fee | Commission rate | Agent fee |
| 1.25% | $5,000 | 3.75% | $15,000 |
| 1.5% | $6,000 | 4% | $16,000 |
| 1.75% | $7,000 | 4.25% | $17,000 |
| 2% | $8,000 | 4.5% | $18,000 |
| 2.25% | $9,000 | 4.75% | $19,000 |
| 2.5% | $10,000 | 5% | $20,000 |
| 2.75% | $11,000 | 5.25% | $21,000 |
| 3% | $12,000 | 5.5% | $22,000 |
| 3.25% | $13,000 | 5.75% | $23,000 |
| 3.5% | $14,000 | 6% | $24,000 |
Still curious about agent fees? Next up are the answers to common questions about real estate agent commissions.
Who pays real estate commission fees?
Historically, the seller in a transaction paid the commission fees in full. As top real estate agent Rachel Moussa of Flower Mound, Texas, explains, in most places, “the standard has been for sellers to pay both the listing agent and the buyer’s agent’s commission.”
However, as part of the NAR lawsuit settlement terms, buyers are now expected to negotiate and pay their own agent fees. To accommodate and reinforce this change, buyers are being asked to sign a buyer-broker agreement even before touring a property.
In addition, Moussa explains that under the old model, “the listing agent [would] put on the multiple listing service (MLS) what percentage the seller agreed to pay cooperating brokers.” But under the new rules, compensation offers are no longer allowed to be posted on NAR-operated MLS systems.
This change was made to avoid what is known as “steering,” where some buyers’ agents would only show their clients homes that would make them the most money. Commission offers can still be shared from agent to agent through off-MLS communications, such as phone calls, emails, and non-NAR real estate portals.
When is the commission owed?
As the seller, the real estate commission you owe will automatically be deducted from the sale proceeds at the time of closing. Until then, you won’t owe any money to the real estate agent.
For buyers who have negotiated a commission with their agent, the Realtor fee will be paid as part of their final closing costs.
Does the agent get to keep the full commission?
In cases where the seller agrees to pay the entire commission, the listing agent (representing the seller) doesn’t keep it all. Part of their commission will go toward marketing your property with professional photography, open houses, offline marketing, and more.
In the traditional seller-funded commission scenario, there was typically a 50/50 split with the buyer’s agent to compensate them for bringing a buyer to the sale and coordinating the buy-side of the transaction. So, around 2.5% to 3% would go to the listing agent, and the other 2.5% to 3% would go to the buyer’s agent. Both the listing agent and the buyer’s agent would then share a percentage of their commission with their sponsoring broker.
These split rates can vary; however, it’s common for the listing agent to give their broker anywhere from 20% to 50% of their portion of the commission, depending on the agent’s level of experience, their market size, and the brokerage agreement.
Under the new NAR settlement rules, if you pay just your listing agent fees, that agent will still only be able to keep what’s left after covering their marketing expenses and whatever slice of the commission their brokerage office requires.
How is the commission divided between agents?
Under the old model, the commission that’s paid by the seller is split between each agent and the brokerages through which they hang their real estate license. Let’s say you sell your home for $200,000 with a 6% commission rate. You pay a commission of $12,000, and each agent has a 70/30 split agreement with their brokerage. Here’s how that might look:
- Listing agent: $4,200 (70% of their $6,000 commission share)
- Listing broker: $1,800 (30% of their $6,000 commission share)
- Buyer’s agent: $4,200 (70% of their $6,000 commission share)
- Buyer’s broker: $1,800 (30% of their $6,000 commission share)
A transaction following the new NAR settlement rules will see a similar split, but the buyer is funding their own agent’s compensation. That means that on a $200,000 home, you pay the 3% commission rate to the listing agent, which is around $6,000, while the buyer pays for the 3% commission rate to the buyer’s agent.
from HomeLight Blog https://www.homelight.com/blog/real-estate-agent-commission/
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