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How do buyer's agent commissions work after the NAR settlement?

A plain-English guide to buyer-agent compensation, written buyer agreements, and what the NAR settlement changes for Huntington Beach buyers.

October 11, 2026 · 8 min read

By Craig Ratowsky, Principal agent, Ratowsky Group at Compass

How do buyer-agent commissions work after the NAR settlement?

After the NAR settlement, buyer-agent commissions in Huntington Beach are set in a written buyer agreement, negotiated directly with your agent, and paid by you, the seller, or a concession, not posted through the MLS.

What actually changed about buyer-agent pay under the settlement?

The National Association of Realtors settlement brought practice changes that took effect in August 2024, and two of them matter most to you as a buyer in Huntington Beach. First, offers of compensation to a buyer's agent can no longer be posted or communicated through the Multiple Listing Service. Second, if you work with an agent to tour a home, you and that agent sign a written agreement up front that spells out how the agent gets paid.

Those two changes don't set a number, cap a fee, or ban anyone from paying anyone. Commissions were always negotiable, and they still are. What shifted is where the conversation happens and how clearly it gets documented before you start looking.

The practical effect is more transparency and fewer assumptions. Instead of compensation being quietly baked into an MLS field, it's now a direct conversation between you and the agent representing you, written down before the first showing.

Why do you now sign a written buyer agreement before touring?

Under the settlement, a Realtor working with you as a buyer has to enter a written buyer representation agreement before touring a home together. This applies whether the home is in Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach, Huntington Harbour, or anywhere else in Orange County. The point is that both sides know the terms before you walk through a front door.

The agreement has to state the compensation specifically and objectively. It can be a flat fee, a percentage, or an hourly rate, but it can't be open-ended or left for later. It also can't let the agent collect more than the amount you agreed to, even if a seller offers more.

You can negotiate the terms, the length, and the scope. Some agreements cover a single property or a single day of showings, others cover a set period for a broader search. Craig and Justin Ratowsky walk through this document with you line by line so the terms are clear before anyone commits. You can learn more about how they work with buyers on the buyers page.

Who actually pays the buyer's agent now?

Compensation can come from several directions, and the settlement didn't take any of them off the table. A seller can still offer to cover your agent's fee. The listing brokerage can offer compensation directly. You can pay your agent yourself. Or the fee can be covered through a seller concession negotiated inside your offer.

What changed is that the seller's willingness to pay is no longer advertised inside the MLS. That information now gets confirmed through direct communication, a seller concession written into the purchase contract, or an offer term your agent negotiates on your behalf.

So in most Huntington Beach transactions, the buyer-agent fee is still frequently paid by the seller or through a concession. The difference is that it's negotiated openly in the deal rather than assumed from a listing field you never saw.

How is buyer-agent compensation negotiated and disclosed step by step?

The sequence is more structured now, which works in your favor because nothing is hidden. Here is how the process generally runs in a Huntington Beach purchase.

• You and your agent agree on compensation and put it in a written buyer agreement before touring any home.
• Your agent researches each property, including whether the seller is offering to cover buyer-agent compensation, by contacting the listing side directly rather than reading it off the MLS.
• When you write an offer, your agent structures the terms, which can include a request for a seller concession to cover all or part of the buyer-agent fee.
• The seller accepts, counters, or declines that term along with price, contingencies, and timeline, so compensation becomes part of the negotiation.
• At closing, the agreed compensation is disclosed in the settlement documents, and your agent cannot collect more than what your buyer agreement specified.

What does this mean for Huntington Beach buyers specifically?

Huntington Beach spans a wide range of price points and property types, from condos near downtown and ZIP 92648 to waterfront homes in Huntington Harbour in the 92649 area. The settlement rules apply the same way across all of them, but the stakes scale with the price. On a higher-value coastal purchase, a percentage fee is a larger dollar figure, so understanding it up front matters more.

Because compensation is now negotiated inside the deal, your strategy on a competitive listing can shift. In a multiple-offer situation, how you structure a concession request can affect how your offer reads to a seller. An agent who knows the local market can help you weigh that tradeoff.

If you're early in the process, the first-time buyers guide and the broader buying a home in Huntington Beach guide walk through the full picture, from financing to closing, alongside these commission rules.

How do seller concessions fit into the new rules?

A seller concession is money the seller agrees to credit the buyer at closing. It can go toward closing costs, rate buydowns, repairs, or buyer-agent compensation. Concessions existed long before the settlement, and they remain a standard tool.

After the settlement, concessions are often the mechanism used to handle buyer-agent pay inside the contract. If a seller is open to covering your agent, that term can be written into the offer as a concession rather than assumed from a listing. Nothing about this is automatic, so it's negotiated deal by deal.

Keep in mind that lenders set limits on how much a seller can contribute, and those limits vary by loan type and down payment. Because financing rules interact with concessions, it's worth confirming the specifics with your lender early. Ratowsky Group does not recommend a particular lender, but encourages buyers to have that conversation before writing an offer.

What questions should you ask before signing a buyer agreement?

The written agreement is negotiable, so treat it like any other contract and ask questions before you sign. A good agent will welcome them. These are the ones worth raising.

• How is your compensation calculated, and is it a flat fee, a percentage, or hourly?
• How long does this agreement last, and does it cover one property or a broader search?
• What happens if the seller offers to cover all, part, or none of your fee?
• Can I ask the seller for a concession to cover compensation, and how does that affect my offer?
• How do I end the agreement if the fit isn't right, and what are the terms?
• What services are included for the compensation we're agreeing to?

How might this affect your offer in a competitive market?

Huntington Beach and the surrounding Orange County coast can see strong buyer demand on well-presented homes. When you ask a seller to cover your agent through a concession, that request sits alongside your price, your financing, and your timeline as part of how the seller evaluates your offer.

On a listing with multiple offers, your agent helps you decide how to structure that term so your overall offer stays competitive. Sometimes that means requesting a concession, sometimes it means adjusting price, and sometimes it means absorbing part of the fee. There's no single right answer, and it depends on the property and the seller's priorities.

This is exactly the kind of strategy Craig and Justin Ratowsky work through with you before you write. You can see current conditions and recent activity on the market page and start a conversation through the contact page.

Why does buyer representation still matter under these rules?

The settlement made compensation more transparent, but it didn't make the work any smaller. You still need someone reading contracts, coordinating inspections, analyzing comparable sales, and negotiating terms on your behalf. In a coastal market with waterfront logistics, seawalls, docks, and leased land in parts of Huntington Harbour, local knowledge carries real weight.

Ratowsky Group brings 58 years of combined experience across Huntington Beach and Orange County, with Craig selling since 1977 and Justin licensed since 2017. That lived market history shapes how they advise you on price, structure, and the tradeoffs inside an offer.

Justin frames the job simply. "We treat you like family and your investment like our own," he says, and that's the lens he and Craig bring to the compensation conversation along with everything else.

Where can you confirm the official rules yourself?

Because the settlement details get summarized in a lot of places, it helps to read the primary sources. The National Association of Realtors maintains a consumer-facing explanation of the practice changes, and the California Association of Realtors publishes guidance for buyers and sellers operating under California contracts.

These rules continue to be interpreted and refined, so checking the current official language is smart before you act. Nothing in this article is legal or tax advice. For guidance tailored to your situation, a direct conversation with Craig and Justin Ratowsky and the right licensed professional is the better path.

If you're weighing a purchase in Huntington Beach or nearby coastal Orange County, the team is glad to walk through the written agreement and the compensation options with no pressure.

A data point worth holding onto. combined real estate experience for Craig and Justin Ratowsky across Huntington Beach and Orange County, with Craig selling since 1977 and Justin licensed since 2017: 58 years (source: Ratowsky Group at Compass).

On this point, Justin Ratowsky, Realtor®, Ratowsky Group at Compass, DRE #02026158 is direct: "We treat you like family and your investment like our own."

Sources

• National Association of Realtors: Settlement and practice changes
• California Association of Realtors

Frequently asked questions

Are real estate commissions negotiable after the NAR settlement?

Yes. Commissions have always been negotiable, and the settlement reinforced that by requiring buyer-agent compensation to be stated in a written agreement. You and your agent set the terms directly, whether that's a flat fee, a percentage, or an hourly rate. No law sets or caps the amount.

Do buyers have to pay their agent out of pocket now?

Not necessarily. Buyer-agent compensation can be paid by the seller, the listing brokerage, through a seller concession written into your offer, or by you directly. In many Huntington Beach transactions the fee is still covered by the seller or a concession, but it's now negotiated openly inside the deal rather than posted on the MLS.

When did the NAR settlement rules take effect?

The practice changes took effect in August 2024. The two main changes are that offers of compensation to buyer agents can no longer be shared through the MLS, and that agents working with buyers must sign a written buyer agreement before touring a home. You can confirm the current rules on the National Association of Realtors website.

What is a written buyer agreement and what does it include?

It's a contract between you and your agent that you sign before touring a home together. It states how the agent is compensated using a specific, objective amount, and it can't be open-ended. It also defines the length of the agreement and the scope, which can be a single property or a broader search.

Can a seller still pay the buyer's agent in Huntington Beach?

Yes. Sellers can still offer to cover buyer-agent compensation, often handled as a seller concession negotiated into the purchase contract. What changed is that this offer is no longer advertised through the MLS, so your agent confirms it through direct communication or negotiates it as part of your offer.

How does buyer-agent compensation affect my offer in a competitive sale?

When you request a seller concession to cover your agent, that term is evaluated alongside your price, financing, and timeline. On a home with multiple offers, how you structure that request can influence how competitive your overall offer looks. Your agent helps you weigh whether to request a concession, adjust price, or absorb part of the fee.