Real Estate Commission Explained: What Changed After the 2024 NAR Settlement
3 min read · Last updated 2026-08-03 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®)
Real estate commissions are negotiable, not fixed, and that has been federally confirmed since the NAR Sitzer/Burnett settlement took effect on August 17, 2024. Cash Flow Deals is one option that sidesteps the commission question differently: instead of a percentage of the sale price, it charges a flat fee as its own line item on the closing statement, arranged through its licensed FL brokerage partner, while locking the seller's net price before repairs are scoped.
| Factor | Traditional Listing | Cash Flow Deals |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | Commission negotiations with a listing agent happen upfront, and buyer-agent compensation is now negotiated separately under the 2024 NAR settlement rules. | Flat fee agreed upfront with Silver Door Realty, with no percentage tied to negotiation length or final sale price. |
| Repairs | Repair credits can get tangled with commission math when both sides negotiate price and repairs in the same conversation. | House sells as-is at the price already locked, with the structural exception clause as the only carve-out. |
| Fees / Costs | Commission is negotiable, split between listing and buyer's agents as agreed in a written buyer agreement, since MLS no longer publishes buyer-agent compensation. | CFD's fee is a flat line item on the closing statement, not a percentage of price, arranged through Silver Door Realty. |
What the 2024 NAR Settlement Actually Changed
In March 2024, the National Association of REALTORS settled the Sitzer/Burnett class-action lawsuit, which had argued that home sellers were effectively forced to pay inflated buyer's-agent commissions through MLS rules. The settlement's practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024. Two changes matter most to a seller: MLS listings can no longer publish an offer of buyer-agent compensation, and a buyer's agent must sign a written buyer agreement with their client before showing homes, spelling out how that agent gets paid. Commission has always technically been negotiable in real estate, but this settlement forced the negotiation into the open instead of leaving it as an unwritten MLS default.
Why Commission Was Never Actually Fixed, Even Before 2024
No law ever set real estate commission at a specific percentage nationally or in Florida. What changed in practice was how that number got communicated: before the settlement, a seller's agent commonly posted a buyer-agent commission offer directly on the MLS listing, which functioned like an informal default even though it was technically negotiable the whole time. After August 17, 2024, that MLS field is gone, so the buyer's agent's pay now gets negotiated directly with the buyer in a written agreement, separate from what the seller agrees to pay their own listing agent.
What This Means for a Florida Seller Right Now
A Florida seller listing a house today negotiates commission directly with their own listing agent, and that number is no longer automatically shared with buyer's agents through the MLS. Some sellers still choose to offer buyer-agent compensation as a concession to attract more showings, since buyers now often need to fund their own agent's fee directly if the seller does not. Every part of that math, the listing side and the buyer side, is a negotiation now, not a percentage a seller has to accept because it is what everyone else on the MLS was doing.
Cash Flow Deals' Process: A Flat Fee Instead of a Commission Negotiation
Cash Flow Deals is a Florida real estate investor that locks in a net price for a seller's house before repairs are scoped, using a novation-based, flat-fee process arranged through its licensed FL brokerage partner, Silver Door Realty — not a traditional listing, and not a brokerage itself. 1. Request your net-price walkthrough: Cash Flow Deals reviews the property and locks a number before repairs are scoped, with the flat fee already part of that conversation instead of a separate negotiation later. 2. Sign the agreement through Silver Door Realty: the flat fee and the locked price both go into a single written contract. 3. Cash Flow Deals matches the house to a real FHA or conventional buyer, whose own agent's compensation is negotiated separately under the post-settlement rules and does not change the seller's locked number. 4. Title transfers once, seller to buyer, with CFD's fee showing up as its own line item on the closing statement rather than a percentage baked into the price. 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.
Why This Question Keeps Coming Up
Real estate commission and Realtor fee questions draw close to 4,000 searches a month even after the settlement has been in effect for two years, which shows sellers are still working out what a fair number looks like now that MLS no longer publishes a default. The honest answer is that there is no single right percentage anymore, if there ever really was one. What matters for a seller is getting a specific number in writing, whether that is a negotiated commission with a listing agent or a flat fee arranged through a brokerage partner, before assuming any number is standard.
Common questions
Is real estate commission illegal now after the NAR settlement?
No. Commission itself is not illegal or banned. What changed is that MLS listings can no longer publish a buyer-agent compensation offer, and a buyer's agent must have a signed written agreement with their client before showing homes. Commission remains fully negotiable.
Do I still have to pay the buyer's agent as the seller?
Not automatically. Since August 17, 2024, buyer-agent compensation is negotiated in the buyer's own written agreement with their agent, not defaulted through the MLS. A seller can choose to offer to cover some or all of it as a negotiating point, but nothing requires it.
What is a typical commission percentage in Florida now?
There is no fixed or typical percentage set by law. Every commission is a private negotiation between a seller and their listing agent, and separately between a buyer and their agent, so the right number depends on the specific deal and market.
How is Cash Flow Deals' fee different from a commission?
It is a flat fee, not a percentage of the sale price, and it is arranged through Cash Flow Deals' licensed FL brokerage partner, Silver Door Realty, showing up as its own line item on the closing statement rather than a markup on price.