With historic changes now in place—and unlikely to be reverted—it is reasonable to expect that agents and brokers will start to rethink their priorities as far as compensation, and perhaps begin reevaluating their broader needs or focus in order to stay successful in the new era of real estate. While again, it is very early in the process, real estate professionals have been aware of the coming changes since at least March of this year, and have had plenty of time to start planning.
The biggest and most obvious shift to potentially come out of the policy changes—especially in light of this study’s findings on buyer commission—is whether agents and brokers will focus more of their efforts on listings and less on buyers.
When asked if the proportion of their business coming from either the buy or sell side has shifted in the last year, a slim majority of agents and brokers said that it has not.
That held true, for the most part, across regions and demographics. The only outliers were agents with less experience, and those at hybrid/self-employed companies. Agents with less than 10 years in the industry were more likely to see a shift toward buyers—24% serving more buyer clients than the previous year. And the trend was similar for hybrid/self-employed agents, with 26% increasing focus on the buy side.
Close to a third of agents and brokers already seeing a shift toward sellers is significant, however, and could portend a larger adjustment if agents find that buyer relationships are not as lucrative as they were previously.
Looking ahead, real estate professionals were asked their expectations for commission rates over the next year. Again, a slim majority said they expected no change, but a significant number are planning for even lower rates.
More specifically, 30% of respondents said they expected rates to fall “modestly,” while 7% are anticipating “significant” decreases in commission rates. On the other side, 10% of agents and brokers expect a “modest” increase in commissions, while 2% are watching for a “significant” rise. In the Midwest, there were slightly more people expecting commissions to rise, with 17% of agents and brokers awaiting higher commissions in that region.
Interestingly, older agents and brokers were more likely to anticipate falling commission rates, with 43% of respondents 65 and older saying they think rates will drop.
One of the ways agents and brokers are often defined is by how productive they are—how many transactions they close. A theory supported by many both within and outside the industry is that recent policy changes will drive unproductive agents and brokers to leave real estate entirely. Other observers have wondered if real estate professionals will have to close more transactions to stay afloat or maintain their incomes, with lower average commissions.
While there is not enough data in one month to form any conclusion as to those theories, looking at the last year, there did not appear to be any major shifts. The median real estate professional closed 12 transactions in 2023-24, the same as the previous year. The average number of transactions closed was 20, also nearly identical to the past two years, meaning there was no huge increase in outliers—agents or brokers closing hundreds of sales, or only involved in one or two.
Another area where there was no top-level shifts: how many agents and brokers go into the office versus those who work fully from home. This past year, 17% of respondents said they operate without an office, the exact same as last year.
But that might change, if commission trends continue. Remote agents reported making 4.70% commission after the policy changes went into effect, while those who at least occasionally went into the office took in 5.02%. This is a larger disparity than 2022-23, when fully remote agents were taking in 5.01% and in-office agents made 5.11%, meaning remote agents are potentially being squeezed harder by the changes. Why exactly that might be isn’t clear, and it could also have more to do with other factors—fully remote agents are generally more likely to be young and earlier in their careers, for instance.
Something else that has been theorized about since the settlement was announced is how it will affect part-time practitioners. Whether it is possible to keep up with compliance or find clients in an increasingly competitive environment is one question, but how is compensation shaping up for agents who only do the job on a part-time basis?
Maybe unsurprisingly, part-time agents and brokers had the lowest average commission rate post-settlement of any demographic or category, at 3.99%. Part-time buyer agents only took in 1.76% commission on average, and 2.23% on the sell-side.
Part-time agents also experienced the biggest drop from 2023-24 to post-settlement. Before August 17, part-time agents were making a healthy 5.61%, right about the overall average. After the settlement, part-time agents took a $3,292 hit on the buy-side and a $3,545 decrease as listing agents (on a median-priced home).
It is unclear if that trend will persist, or whether it is possibly overstated by the data, as part-time agents were also more likely to report working for a flat fee or providing limited services, meaning their business model might become less and less comparable to that of a full-time, full-service agent. The question of how much a major decrease in compensation—along with more training and scrutiny—will affect part-time agents remains unclear.
As far as what types of properties or sales agents and brokers specialized in, there was very little change—although if there were going to be major shifts in this type of behavior, it would likely take more than a month to show up in the data.
Most respondents still reported focusing on residential generally, while there was a slight uptick in those who specialized in new construction, from 40% to 43%. Relocation specialties rose by 5%, with 35% of agents claiming that as their area of expertise. Those who specialized in “green” or energy-efficient properties fell from 5% to 3%, while luxury specialists didn’t move at 38%.
Looking more holistically at what they value, agents were asked how important various factors, supports and amenities were to them. For the most part, very little has changed from years’ past—technology and commission splits are still ranked highest, with more than 90% of agents and brokers rating both these as “very” or “somewhat important.”
Only two small shifts showed up in this year’s survey—a slightly lower emphasis on office culture and marketing tools. Respondents who said office culture was important fell 3%, while those who rated marketing tools as a priority in their careers fell 5%.
This survey was conducted by a national market research firm on behalf of RISMedia. Invitations were sent to respondents by RISMedia from a database of more than 130,000 real estate professionals and data was collected from a sample of 1,331 individuals between September 17 and October 7, 2024. Broker/owners and other real estate professionals who do not work on a commission structure were terminated from the survey.
