Buyer-Broker Agreements: How Buyer Agents Get Paid
Since August 2024 you sign a written agreement with your agent before touring homes. Here is what that agreement does, how compensation actually works in Virginia, and why almost all of it is negotiable.
Why there is now a form before you tour
Following the 2024 National Association of Realtors settlement, a buyer working with an agent who belongs to a Realtor MLS signs a written buyer-agency agreement before that agent tours homes with them. Virginia buyer-brokerage agreements also have to state a definite termination date. The point of the paperwork is transparency: before anyone spends a Saturday looking at houses, you and your agent have written down what the agent will do for you and how they get paid. Read it — it is usually short, and everything in it is a starting point for discussion, not a fixed schedule.
Compensation is negotiable — nobody sets it
There is no standard or legally required commission rate in Virginia. Real estate commissions are not set by law, by any MLS, or by any board, and they never have been. Whatever number appears in your agreement is negotiable between you and your agent, as is how it is structured — a percentage, a flat fee, or an hourly arrangement. If a figure is presented to you as "standard" or "the going rate," that is a description of habit, not a rule. Ask what it covers and whether it can move.
Who actually pays your agent
Your agreement names an amount your agent is owed for representing you. Separately, a seller — or a builder — may offer to cover some or all of that amount, and in a great many transactions they still do. When they do, it is credited toward what you agreed to pay, so your out-of-pocket cost drops accordingly, sometimes to zero. The change since 2024 is that this seller contribution is no longer assumed or advertised through the MLS the way it once was: it is asked for and negotiated deal by deal, often written right into your offer. If the seller covers less than your agreed amount, the difference is something you and your agent discuss up front — not a surprise at closing.
New construction works the same way
Builders generally budget for a co-operating broker commission and will usually cover your agent under the same registration rules that decide representation. That is one reason to bring your agent, or register them, on your first visit to a community — it keeps your representation intact at, in most cases, no added cost to you. Confirm the specifics with the builder before you write, because incentives and co-op terms vary by builder, community, and month.
What to look for before you sign
Check four things. The termination date — Virginia requires a definite one, so you are never locked in indefinitely. The scope — is this agreement for one specific house, a defined area, or open-ended? The compensation amount and how any shortfall between it and a seller contribution would be handled. And whether the same agent or brokerage might also represent the seller on a home you like, which changes how hard they can push on price for you. None of these is a trick; they are just the terms, and they are yours to negotiate.
The honest bottom line
The written agreement is a good thing for buyers: it forces a clear conversation about cost and service before the emotional part of house-hunting begins. Compensation is negotiable, a seller or builder may still cover it, and whatever they cover is credited toward what you owe. This is general education, not legal advice — for the exact wording of any agreement or how a specific clause binds you, ask a Virginia real estate attorney or the agent presenting it.
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Educational information only — not legal, tax, or lending advice. Figures are typical ranges, not quotes or approvals. Confirm specifics with a licensed lender or attorney.