Since Aug. 17, 2024, the rules around real estate commissions have worked differently. Under the national settlement with the National Association of Realtors, buyers must sign a written agreement with their own agent before touring a home, and the pay in that agreement must be specific, a flat fee or a percentage, not open-ended. Offers of compensation to buyers’ agents no longer appear on the multiple listing service, although sellers can still agree to pay them.
“Some sellers may decide they do not want their broker to offer compensation to a buyer’s broker at all,” Kristen Haseney told UConn Today as the rules took effect.
Was Connecticut already different?
Connecticut has required written buyer agency agreements for nearly 30 years, and disclosures that fees are negotiable for 40, according to Connecticut Realtors, the state association. It has also been explicit on the central point. There is “absolutely no standard commission rate.”
What are sellers paying now?
Commissions have not collapsed. Redfin’s data put the average commission paid to buyers’ agents at a low of 2.36 percent in the third quarter of 2024, then 2.40 percent in the first quarter of 2025 and 2.43 percent in the second quarter. For homes priced at $1 million or more, the average was lower, 2.21 percent.
| Period | Average buyer’s agent commission |
|---|---|
| Third quarter 2024 | 2.36% |
| First quarter 2025 | 2.40% |
| Second quarter 2025 | 2.43% |
| Second quarter 2025, homes $1 million and up | 2.21% |
In Redfin’s survey, 37.4 percent of recent sellers said they negotiated or tried to negotiate their commission.
How do I negotiate when I list?
Every point is large at Westport prices. On a $3 million sale, one percent is $30,000. Before you sign a listing agreement, decide whether you will offer to pay a buyer’s agent and how much, ask what the listing agent’s fee covers, and put it in writing. A buyer can still ask you to cover their agent as part of an offer, and that becomes one more term to negotiate alongside price and timing.
Our guide to what a Westport seller nets puts commissions next to conveyance taxes and capital gains, and our story on selling without an agent covers the alternative.
Sources
- National Association of Realtors, Consumer guide to written buyer agreements, Sept. 6, 2024
- UConn Today, What the NAR settlement means, July 29, 2024
- Connecticut Realtors, Communication points on the NAR settlement, Aug. 15, 2024
- Redfin, Real estate commissions, May 16, 2025
- BusinessWire, Redfin, Buyer’s agent commissions tick up to pre-NAR settlement levels, Aug. 12, 2025
