What the NAR Settlement Actually Changed for Buyer-Agent Commissions in Florida

What the NAR Settlement Actually Did

The NAR settlement grew out of the Sitzer/Burnett class-action lawsuit and took effect August 17, 2024. Before that date, a seller's listing agreement typically included a commission offer to whichever agent brought the buyer, and that offer was published directly inside the MLS listing itself, visible to every agent searching the database.

After the settlement, that automatic publication stopped. A buyer's agent commission is no longer displayed inside the MLS listing. Instead it gets negotiated and disclosed as its own separate item, outside that system. The settlement also introduced a new requirement on the buyer side: a buyer now has to sign a written buyer-broker agreement with an agent before that agent can tour homes with them, spelling out how that agent gets paid.

This was a real, industry-wide change, not a rumor or a minor policy tweak. It affects how every MLS-based sale in the country handles buyer-agent pay, Florida included. What it did not do is eliminate buyer-agent commissions as a concept, ban sellers from offering to cover them, or change how a listing agent's own commission works.

What Changed for Sellers, and What Did Not

A seller can still offer to cover the buyer's agent commission as part of getting a deal done. That has not disappeared. What changed is where and how that offer gets made. It is no longer baked automatically into the MLS listing where every buyer's agent can see it before showing the house. It gets negotiated directly, often inside the purchase offer itself, and disclosed as a separate line item.

The listing agent's own commission, typically in the 5 to 6 percent range paid by the seller, was not restructured by this settlement. What has shifted is transparency and negotiation dynamics: buyers are now more aware of what their own agent charges, since they have to sign an agreement upfront, and some buyers are negotiating to have sellers cover that cost as part of the offer rather than assuming it is automatic.

In practice this has added a new negotiation layer to some deals. A seller reviewing an offer now sometimes sees a buyer-agent commission request handled as its own term, rather than an assumption baked into the transaction from the start. It has not made selling more expensive on average. It has made the commission conversation more explicit.

How This Plays Out for a Direct Sale Instead of a Listing

You can compare the Fast Cash Offer and the Premium Cash Offer with Cash Flow Deals, and you choose which fits your plans. With the Fast Cash Offer, we buy your house as-is and close, with no listing or repairs for you to make. With the Premium Cash Offer, a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. Your home may be listed through Silver Door Realty, a licensed Florida brokerage, with a licensed agent and scheduled showings. Applicable buyer-broker agreements and compensation disclosures remain part of that process; Premium does not remove those requirements.

We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. On Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with repair costs settled from the sale proceeds out of our share. With either offer, the number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens.

On Premium, your buyer signs a new contract directly with you, title transfers directly to that buyer, and their lender funds the purchase. Closing runs through Title Guaranty of South Florida. Anything owed is paid from the sale proceeds first, then you receive your agreed number, and Cash Flow Deals is paid last from what is left, as a separate line item on the closing statement. Premium costs come out of our share, not your number, subject to the structural exception described above. If the buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number, alongside your Premium Cash Offer choice.

If the settlement coverage has left you wondering how to sell, start by comparing what you receive under each offer and reviewing the written terms. A direct purchase by us and a Premium sale to a financed buyer follow different paths, and we explain the applicable costs and paperwork before you choose.