What Agents Are Really Saying About Buyer Agreements in 2025

Hello John - change "lives" among us.  Responding to it is not always easy but necessary, nonetheless.    🐘🎪🎩

Hello John... I've been working with buyer agency agreements here in the Carolinas since 1999. This is nothing new to me. It's always been about communication upfront. That being said, it's insane that we need to generate exclusive representation agreements before showing a single home to a prospective buyer. When I sent out an update to my data base explaining all these changes, the overwhelming response I got from my data base was "Why? Isn't life complicated enough? What was wrong with the old system?"

I work in Manhattan- which is a very different market than the rest of the nation for a variety of reasons. Most of us are not members of NAR, but rather REBNY- which is NYC's own trade organization. Even though we don't have a true MLS or are NAR members- REBNY decided to comply with a customized version of NAR's buyer agent agreements. Since implementation- one of our directors recently observed that on average the buyer's agent commissions surprisingly increased at our firm. 

On the seller side, I have had seller's that were resistant to paying any buyer's agent commission or paying a very low buyer's agent commission. These listings are generally not selling. Manhattan sales have been weak since the Fed started raising interest rates 3 years ago. Right now, as a generalization (because we have so many different sub markets on what is an island) new listings have about a 13% chance of going into contract within the first 30 days of being listed. Because of this, I advise sellers to do whatever they can do to make the home easier to sell- and yes, this includes offering a reasonable buyer's agent commission. That conversation may change when the market is hot again.

On the buyer side, while my buyer clients will universally tell everyone how much I worked to educate them (after all- my prior career was in Learning & Professional Development) - I decided to clarify my services up front by creating a matrix of all of the services that are included when working with me after our first conversation as a result of these changes. I always offered these services- but I decided to add some transparency (even if it only helped me clarify the value I bring to my buyer's by putting it down on paper on 1 page).  I have been explaining my observations to my buyers- and have an open discussion on how they prefer to approach things. I do offer a premium service and I am able to demonstrate my value even during the first call and show enough knowledge that establishes me as a subject matter expert- so the clients don't object to my commission structure (at least not as of yet). I do offer a discount to referral and repeat clients as a Thank you- but anyone else it's my full rate. I have had one buyer referral that wasn't so much objecting to my commission structure as he was objecting to pay any buyer's agent commission. The overwhelming majority of listings are paying my commission either in full or mostly paid by the seller (since he was a referral client with my discounted rate- almost every listing would be covering my fee in full anyway). The rare few that aren't paying my commission in full - no one said we can't add that as a negotiating point. In reality- none of it matters anyway since the buyer's expectations are not where the market is or is likely to be. His price point might work- but the monthlies are not aligned with the market - ongoing common charges, which is sort of similar to HOA fees, are closer to double what he is willing to pay. So I am not likely to work with this client anyway. 

It's also important to understand that I never saw a large drop in commissions realistic in my market due to the complexity of deals here. 70% of our inventory are co-op's- and these buildings are structured like private clubs- with lots of hoops for buyers to jump through in order to qualify- far stricter than what a bank would require to lend. Buyer's agents here might get a pre-approval for their clients- but as agents- we have to truly vet a buyer's financials ourselves to determine whether they might qualify to purchase in a particular building- even if the buyer is purchasing all cash. 

Overall I see the rule changes as a positive to my wallet at the expense of the consumer- since the changes made it far easier to ask for what I am worth. Talk about the law of unintended consequences. Now, it not's truly that simple- because there has been so much new regulation and taxes in NYC in recent years - hurting our sales market, that I was among the many agents disgusted by this change- even though I strongly suspected I would make more money- but knowing that it would just create even more stress for everyone.  Collusion...Ha! It's often difficult to get another agent on the phone or to answer an email or text- let alone colluding with anyone! Justice gone wrong.

Good afternoon,

I've always worked using a Buyer Agency agreement so the change is nothing new. It always has been important to clearly communicate the importance of this committment. We are now need to tak more time to clearly communicate all the nuances and prove our worth. Sellers are asjusting and I'm seeing them move more in the direction of paying the listing agent and Brokerage a fee and negotiating the BA fee in the contract. 

Hi John- good follow up to your previous post!  Sharing information helps everyone!!!

Good morning John. When I was an active agent almost nobody used buyer broker agreements. When I when into management many agents resisted there use. When my management focus was onsite new construction in upscale communities, they were becoming more common. Mostly, now it has my interest and seems to come down to communication. Thanks for your post and the opportunity to read how those still active agents are doing. Enjoy your day.

John Sansaricq, your post brings clarity and calm to a topic that feels like a circus for many 🏋️‍♂️🎪 Thank you for spotlighting the power of communication and confidence in 2025! #StayMotivated #LeadWithClarity 💬✨