The 2024 NAR settlement changed one of the longest-standing assumptions in residential real estate. For decades, Texas sellers were expected to cover both sides of the commission. That is no longer the rule, and a lot of sellers do not yet fully understand what changed, what is still allowed, and what the right move is for their specific situation.
The short answerNo. Since August 17, 2024, Texas sellers are not required to offer buyer agent compensation. It is fully negotiable. The decision is yours to make before your listing goes live.
- In this articleWhat actually changed after the NAR settlement
- What the MLS rules now prohibit and what they allow
- How buyer's agents find out about compensation now
- The seller concessions field in the Texas MLS
- Your three options as a Texas seller
- Will buyer's agents still show your home
- What this means for flat fee sellers specifically
- How to make this decision before you list
What Actually Changed After the NAR Settlement
In March 2024, the National Association of Realtors settled a major antitrust lawsuit for $418 million. The lawsuit alleged that the traditional commission structure, where sellers automatically paid buyer agent fees through the MLS, amounted to price-fixing that inflated seller costs. The settlement required two significant practice changes that took effect on August 17, 2024.
The first change directly affects Texas sellers. Offers of buyer agent compensation are now prohibited anywhere in the MLS. Before August 2024, sellers in SABOR, HAR, ACTRIS, and NTREIS could enter a specific compensation offer in their listing data, and every buyer's agent in the market could see that number when they pulled up the listing. That field, and any other place compensation could appear in the MLS, was eliminated entirely.
The second change is that buyers must now sign a written buyer representation agreement before touring homes. That agreement must specify how the buyer's agent will be compensated, the amount or rate, and include a clear statement that broker fees are fully negotiable and not set by law.
What did not change: Sellers can still offer to cover buyer agent compensation. The practice is not prohibited. What changed is where and how that offer can be communicated. It must happen entirely outside the MLS.
What the MLS Rules Now Prohibit and What They Allow
This is where sellers get confused, so it is worth being specific.
What is prohibited in the MLS: Any offer of buyer agent compensation anywhere in the MLS is prohibited. This includes public remarks, private agent remarks, compensation fields, photos, and attachments. According to NAR's settlement rules, MLSs must eliminate all broker compensation fields and compensation information. According to NAR guidance, buyer agent compensation or commission cannot be offered via the MLS, including BAC fields, public remarks, and private remarks fields. A violation can result in the listing being placed on administrative hold until corrected.
What is allowed outside the MLS: Sellers and their listing brokers can communicate compensation offers through any channel that is not the MLS. This includes phone calls, text messages, email, the listing broker's own website, marketing materials such as flyers and signs, and direct outreach to buyer broker agencies.
According to NAR's guidance on communicating offers of compensation, if a listing broker or seller is offering compensation for the buyer's broker, the listing agent can share that offer through marketing such as flyers, signs, or emails, and brokers can display offers of compensation for their own listings on their own website.
How Buyer's Agents Find Out About Compensation Now
Before the settlement, a buyer's agent could see compensation information the moment they pulled up a listing in the MLS. That is gone. The process is now more direct but less automatic.
When a buyer's agent is interested in showing your home, they call the listing broker to ask about any compensation being offered. That is the standard practice in Texas markets since August 2024. The listing broker tells them what, if anything, the seller is willing to offer. If the seller has communicated their position clearly to the listing broker before the listing goes live, that conversation takes thirty seconds. If the seller has not thought it through, that call creates friction at exactly the moment you want buyer agents engaged with your listing.
This is one reason having a clear position before your listing goes live matters more now than it did before the settlement. Buyer's agents are calling to ask. You want a consistent answer ready before the first showing request comes in.
The Seller Concessions Field in the Texas MLS
Texas MLS boards responded to the settlement by adding a new field to listings. HAR calls it "Seller May Contribute to Buyer Expenses Up To $____." SABOR implemented a similar seller concessions field. This field is visible in the listing and buyer's agents can see it when they pull up your property.
This field allows sellers to indicate a dollar amount they may be willing to contribute toward buyer expenses at closing. It is not a compensation offer. It is an indication of a seller's willingness to contribute toward buyer costs, which the buyer can use however they choose.
There are important rules about how this field works. The amount entered is an indication of willingness, not a binding commitment. Any amount must be formalized in the purchase contract. Most importantly, the contribution cannot be conditioned on the use of or payment to a buyer's broker. According to HAR's guidance, the buyer has sole discretion of how any contribution toward their expenses would be used. They could apply it to their agent's fee, closing costs, an interest rate buydown, or repairs. You cannot require them to use it a specific way.
How the concessions field works in practiceA seller enters $10,000 in the seller concessions field. A buyer sees it, submits an offer, and their buyer representation agreement specifies 2.5 percent compensation. On a $400,000 home that is $10,000. The buyer requests the $10,000 concession in their offer terms. The seller evaluates that as part of the full offer package. If both sides agree, the $10,000 is formalized in the contract and the buyer uses it to pay their agent at closing.
The key distinction: the concession goes to the buyer. The buyer decides to pay their agent with it. The seller is contributing to buyer expenses, not paying an agent directly.
Your Three Options as a Texas Seller
Option 1Use the seller concessions field and have your broker communicate clearly
Enter a dollar amount in the MLS seller concessions field indicating what you are willing to contribute toward buyer expenses. Have your listing broker communicate your position directly and consistently to buyer agents who call.
This gives buyer's agents the clearest possible signal before they schedule a showing and reduces friction during the process. The tradeoff is that you commit to a number before knowing what offers will come in.
Option 2 · Most flexibleLeave it open and evaluate it as part of each offer
Do not advertise a concession amount. When buyer's agents call the listing broker, the broker states that compensation is negotiable as part of any offer. When offers arrive, buyers who want you to cover their agent's fee include a seller concession request in their offer terms.
This gives you the most flexibility. An offer $15,000 above asking with a $10,000 concession request is a different calculation than a clean offer at list price with no concession. Evaluating each offer on its complete terms is often more useful than pre-committing to a fixed cost before you see the market respond.
Recommended for most Texas sellers in 2026
Option 3Offer nothing and state that clearly through your broker
Instruct your listing broker to tell buyer agents you are not offering any contribution toward buyer expenses. Buyers who want representation must either pay their agent directly or negotiate it into their offer independently.
This works best in high-demand, low-inventory markets where buyer competition is strong enough that buyers will absorb that cost. In more balanced Texas markets, it can reduce showing volume from buyers with limited ability to pay their agent separately at closing.
Will Buyer's Agents Still Show Your Home?
This is the question most sellers ask first, and the honest answer is that it depends on the market and the buyer.
Buyer's agents work for their clients. A buyer who wants your home will want their agent to show it regardless of what you are offering. The practical friction arises when a buyer has a representation agreement that specifies compensation and the seller is offering nothing. In that case the buyer has to either pay their agent out of pocket, which most buyers in the $250,000 to $500,000 range cannot easily do at closing, or negotiate a concession into their offer to cover the cost.
In practice, most buyer's agents across San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and Dallas are still pursuing homes where the seller is open to a concession, because that is what their clients need to make the transaction work financially. The sellers who have most successfully offered nothing are in neighborhoods with strong buyer demand where buyers have limited alternatives and are willing to absorb the cost themselves.
According to a February 2026 analysis of Texas market data, commissions did not significantly drop after the August 2024 NAR settlement and have actually edged slightly higher nationally. The rules eliminated the MLS mandate that made buyer compensation feel automatic. They did not eliminate the practice or change the economics that make offering a buyer concession a practical decision for most sellers.
What This Means for Flat Fee Sellers Specifically
If you are selling without a traditional listing agent, this question directly affects your total cost calculation. Here is the honest math.
A traditional full-commission seller typically pays 5 to 6 percent total. With a Waymark listing at $699 for Launch or $1,199 for Manage, the listing side cost is fixed. The buyer side is the remaining variable. Before the settlement, most flat fee sellers still offered buyer agent compensation because the MLS field expected it. Now that field is gone and the decision is explicit.
On a $400,000 home, a 2.5 percent buyer agent concession is $10,000. Add $699 for a Waymark Launch listing and your total cost is $10,699. Compare that to $24,000 for a traditional full-commission transaction at 6 percent. You are still keeping more than $13,000 more, even while offering full buyer agent compensation.
The question for Waymark sellers is not whether offering a concession costs money. It clearly does. The question is whether offering it gets you a better buyer pool, faster offers, and a cleaner transaction than not offering it. In most Texas markets right now, for most price points, the answer is yes.
How to Make This Decision Before You List
There is no universal right answer, but there is a practical framework.
Start by understanding your specific market. Talk to your listing broker about what buyer agents are calling and asking about right now. The norm varies by price point and neighborhood. Some San Antonio and Houston suburban markets are seeing sellers consistently offer 2 to 2.5 percent through concessions. Some higher-demand Austin neighborhoods are seeing sellers offer 1 percent or a flat dollar amount and still generating strong offer activity.
Then think about your buyer profile. A home in the $250,000 to $400,000 range is likely to attract buyers using FHA or conventional financing who have limited cash beyond their down payment. Expecting those buyers to cover their agent out of pocket is a real barrier to entry. A home in the $600,000 to $800,000 range typically attracts buyers with more financial flexibility and more ability to handle compensation as a negotiated term.
Finally, decide how much you want compensation to be a settled question before offers arrive versus an active negotiating variable. Entering an amount in the concessions field and having your broker communicate it consistently removes friction at the showing stage. Leaving it open gives you leverage to evaluate the full offer package. Both approaches are legitimate. The right one depends on your market, your timeline, and how comfortable you are with that conversation happening offer by offer.
The bottom lineYou do not have to offer a buyer's agent commission in Texas. What you offer, if anything, is a business decision based on your market, your price point, and your negotiating strategy. Make it deliberately, before your listing goes live.
At Waymark, every seller works through this decision with their licensed broker before the listing is submitted. Your broker knows your specific MLS market, what buyer agents are asking, and what the norm is at your price point. That conversation happens before you go live so your position is clear from day one.
Your listing. Your terms. Your decision.
Waymark gives Texas sellers full control over buyer agent compensation, MLS exposure through a licensed broker, and AI guidance from pricing to closing. Flat fee from $699. No listing commission.