3 ways to dodge the new fee for home buyers

If you're looking for a new home, you may have noticed a big shift in how buyers' real estate agents get paid, and it could cost you thousands of dollars.

- GABRIELLE LICHTERMAN

We asked Orange County, California, real estate agent Josh Alexander (Josh AlexanderRealEstate.​com) to break down what has changed:

Before August 2024, buyers didn’t pay their real estate agent directly, he reveals. “Instead, the seller typically covered the 5% to 6% commission, which their listing agent split with the buyer’s agent. MLS [Multiple Listing Service] websites like Redfin. com and Zillow.com even showed how much of that commission would go to the buyer's agent.” While sellers always had the option to pay only for their listing agent’s commission, it was also generally expected that sellers would pay the buyer's agent, so most of them did just that.