If you're selling or buying in New York City, one of the first questions you'll have is what you're actually going to pay a real estate agent, and the honest answer is that no law sets that number. Commission has always been negotiable in New York, and two rounds of rule changes in 2024 changed how that negotiation happens without changing that basic fact.
Nationally, a settlement of federal antitrust litigation against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) forced sweeping changes to how commission offers appear on multiple listing services, effective August 17, 2024.12 In New York City, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) had already gotten ahead of it, revising its own rules for Residential Listing Service (RLS) properties effective January 1, 2024.78 Together, these two sets of rules reshaped who offers to pay a buyer's broker, how that offer gets documented, and what you're entitled to see in writing before you sign anything.
This guide walks through what actually changed, what published data says about commission levels since, how the split between a listing broker and a buyer's broker typically works, the New York disclosure rules that apply regardless of price, and worked examples so you can see what commission looks like in dollars at a few different sale prices.
Commission Has Never Been Set by Law
Contrary to popular belief, there is no state or federal law that fixes real estate commission at any percentage, in New York or anywhere else. Standard disclosure language required under the 2024 MLS rule changes puts this in writing for buyers and sellers to see before they sign anything: that broker fees and commissions "are not set by law and are fully negotiable."2
New York's own real estate agency statute, Real Property Law Section 443, regulates what a broker must disclose about the relationship they have with you, not what they can charge.3 It doesn't set, cap, or suggest a commission percentage; the fee you agree to pay a listing broker, and any amount a seller offers a buyer's broker, is a contract term you negotiate directly.
This has been true for as long as New York has required a written listing agreement. What the 2024 rule changes affected was not whether commission is negotiable, but how offers of compensation to a buyer's broker are made, documented, and disclosed to you.
What Changed Nationally on August 17, 2024
The trigger was a set of consolidated antitrust lawsuits against NAR and several large brokerages, alleging that standard practice, a listing broker publishing an offer of compensation to buyer brokers inside the MLS, inflated commissions by pressuring sellers to fund both sides of a deal. NAR agreed to resolve the litigation with a $418 million settlement and a set of mandatory practice changes for any MLS wanting to avoid similar liability.5
Those changes took effect on August 17, 2024.12 From that date, an MLS can no longer accept a listing that includes an offer of compensation to a buyer's broker; that information has to move outside the MLS record entirely, whether communicated directly to buyer's agents, published on a brokerage's own site, or negotiated deal by deal.1
The same rule change requires any agent working with a buyer to sign a written buyer-representation agreement before touring a home with that buyer. The agreement must include a specific, conspicuous disclosure of the amount or rate of compensation the agent will receive, stated in a way that's objectively ascertainable rather than open-ended, and it must state plainly that commissions are not set by law and are negotiable.12
REBNY's RLS Rules: NYC Moved First
Real estate agents in New York City aren't governed by NAR's rules the way most of the country is. REBNY runs the Residential Listing Service (RLS), which covers much of the Manhattan-area market, under its own Universal Co-Brokerage Agreement (UCBA) rather than a standard NAR-affiliated MLS.57 REBNY got ahead of the national settlement, revising its UCBA effective January 1, 2024, months before the nationwide August 17, 2024 deadline.78
The core change, which REBNY calls "decoupling," requires that any offer of compensation to a buyer's broker originate from the seller or property owner, not from the listing broker, even when the listing broker is effectively acting on the seller's behalf. The listing broker no longer pays the buyer's side directly; the seller does, typically at closing.78
REBNY's own FAQ on the change is explicit that this didn't create a fixed split. A widely repeated idea that NYC commissions must be split 50/50 between the listing and buyer's brokers was, according to REBNY, a misreading of a narrow failsafe provision that only applied when nothing had been documented, and that failsafe itself was removed from the January 2024 UCBA. There's no default split anymore; it's whatever the seller and the buyer's broker agree to.7
Commission in New York has always been a negotiated fee, not a fixed cost, and recent rule changes make that easier to act on.
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What Sellers and Buyers Are Actually Paying Now
National data collected since the settlement doesn't show the sharp drop in commission some expected. Redfin's brokerage data, tracked quarterly, put the average buyer's agent commission at 2.36% in August 2024, when the new MLS rules took effect, at 2.38% in the second quarter of 2024, and at 2.43% by the second quarter of 2025, the third consecutive quarterly increase.4
RealTrends Consulting data, reported the same way, showed a similar trend: average commission rates rising from 2.65% in September 2024 to 2.71% by early August 2025.4 A separate national survey found the average total commission, both sides combined, at 5.44% in 2025, up from 5.32% the year before, made up of roughly 2.77% to the seller's agent and 2.67% to the buyer's agent as of mid-2025.9
None of this data is NYC-specific, and NYC's own market runs higher than these national averages. Total commission in New York City has traditionally run 5% to 6%, split between the listing and buyer's brokers, and NYC brokers and attorneys describe the city's practice a year into the settlement as largely business as usual: sellers still typically offer to compensate the buyer's broker on most listings, and new-development sponsors have offered buyer's agents as much as 5% to move inventory.56
Before the 2024 changes, a 2022 study by the Consumer Federation of America found that NYC commission levels varied sharply by borough, largely because of differing MLS rules: Manhattan listings under REBNY's system typically carried a buyer's agent share around 3% and a 6% total, while Brooklyn listings, covered by a different MLS that didn't require an offer to buyer's brokers, often ran closer to a 1% buyer's agent share and a 3% total.10 That study is from 2022 and predates the 2024 changes, but the underlying reason for the gap, different listing services covering different parts of the city with different compensation norms, hasn't been undone by the settlement, so it's worth asking any Queens-area broker which listing service a property will be marketed through and what's typical there, rather than assuming a Manhattan-style rate applies everywhere.10
How the Split Between Listing and Buyer's Brokers Works
A NYC commission is rarely paid to one person. When a seller agrees to compensate a buyer's broker, the total fee splits into at least two shares: one to the brokerage that listed and marketed the home, one to the brokerage that represented the buyer.7 Since REBNY's decoupling and the national MLS rule change, there's no MLS-published, default percentage for either side; the seller negotiates what to offer a buyer's broker as part of the listing agreement, and that figure doesn't have to match what the listing broker itself is charging.71
On the buyer's side, the written buyer-representation agreement now required before a broker can tour homes with you has to spell out, specifically and in advance, what that broker is entitled to receive and from whom, whether that's the amount the seller is offering, a different amount you agree to pay directly, or some combination.12 If a seller's offer doesn't cover the full amount in your buyer agreement, you, not the seller, may be responsible for the difference unless your agreement says otherwise.
NYC brokerages also split their share of the commission internally, between the brokerage and the individual agent who worked with you, under whatever split that agent's own employment agreement sets. That internal split has nothing to do with what you negotiate as a buyer or seller.
New York Rules That Touch Your Commission
Regardless of price or borough, New York Real Property Law Section 443 requires any real estate licensee involved in the sale of a one-to-four-family home, condo, or co-op to disclose, in writing, the type of agency relationship they're offering, such as seller's agent, buyer's agent, broker's agent, or dual agent, before you sign a listing or buyer agreement, and to obtain your signed acknowledgment of that disclosure.3
A listing agent has to give you that disclosure before you enter into a listing agreement, not after.3 A buyer's agent has an obligation going the other direction too: at first substantive contact with a seller or the seller's agent, a buyer's agent has to disclose who they represent.3 None of this sets your commission rate; it governs who owes you loyalty and when you have to be told.
Your listing agreement itself is the document that actually fixes your commission rate and how the buyer's-broker offer is structured, and it now has to carry the negotiability disclosure required since August 17, 2024.2 It's worth reading closely before you sign; the specific clauses on term, cancellation, and protection periods after expiration are covered in what to check in a NYC listing agreement. One structure worth being cautious about is a net listing, where an agent's pay is whatever they can get above a floor price you set, rather than a fixed percentage or dollar amount, a different pay structure with its own trade-offs covered in net listings in New York.
Worked Examples: What Commission Looks Like in Dollars
The percentages above turn into real dollar amounts fast. The table below applies three separately sourced commission rates to the same four sale prices, so you can see the range rather than assume one number applies everywhere in the city.
| Sale Price | NYC-traditional total (6%)5 | 2025 national average (5.44%)9 | Brooklyn-style total (3%)10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500,0005910 | $30,000 | $27,200 | $15,000 |
| $850,0005910 | $51,000 | $46,240 | $25,500 |
| $1,200,0005910 | $72,000 | $65,280 | $36,000 |
| $2,000,0005910 | $120,000 | $108,800 | $60,000 |
These are illustrations, not predictions for your deal. The 6% figure reflects the traditional NYC-wide norm Brick Underground and Hauseit both describe as still common a year into the settlement.56 The 5.44% figure is a 2025 national average that includes markets where buyer-agent compensation runs lower than New York's typically does.9 The 3% figure reflects the lower end the Consumer Federation of America found in parts of Brooklyn before the 2024 changes, driven by an MLS that didn't require a buyer-broker offer at all.10 Your actual number depends on what you and your broker agree to in writing, and what the seller offers a buyer's broker, not on any of these averages.
What to Ask and Negotiate Before You Sign
Since commission isn't set by law in New York, every number your broker quotes is a starting position, not a fixed cost. A few concrete things are worth asking before you sign a listing agreement or a buyer-representation agreement:
- Ask your listing broker directly what percentage they're proposing to offer a buyer's broker, and whether that offer is negotiable if your home sells quickly or above asking.
- Ask what your listing brokerage is keeping for itself versus what's being offered to a buyer's broker, since the two figures are now negotiated separately rather than published as one MLS line item.7
- If you're a buyer, read your written buyer-representation agreement's compensation disclosure carefully before you sign it or tour a single home with that agent; it has to state a specific, objectively ascertainable amount, not an open-ended one.12
- Ask whether the amount you're agreeing to is capped at whatever a seller ultimately offers, or whether you could owe your own agent a gap payment if the seller's offer turns out to be lower.
- Compare a full-service listing against a reduced-service alternative. Some NYC brokers offer flat-fee or limited-service arrangements for sellers comfortable handling more of the process themselves, covered in limited-service real estate agents in NYC.
- If you're weighing whether to use a listing agent at all, selling for sale by owner in NYC walks through what you'd take on directly instead.
- Commission is only one line item in what selling actually costs. See how much it costs to sell a home in NYC for the rest, including transfer taxes and attorney fees.
Get every commission term in writing, in the agreement itself, rather than relying on a verbal understanding with your agent. New York's disclosure rules exist because agency relationships and compensation used to be handled informally, and the paperwork is what protects you if a disagreement comes up later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a standard commission rate for real estate agents in New York?
No. New York law doesn't set, cap, or suggest a commission percentage, and the disclosures required under the 2024 MLS rule changes state plainly that commissions "are not set by law and are fully negotiable."2 Real Property Law Section 443 governs what your agent must disclose about who they represent, not what they can charge.3
What changed on August 17, 2024?
Nationally, MLSs stopped allowing listing brokers to publish offers of compensation to buyer's brokers inside the MLS, and any agent working with a buyer had to start using a written buyer-representation agreement, signed before touring a home, that discloses a specific compensation amount rather than an open-ended one.12
Did REBNY make the same changes as NAR, at the same time?
REBNY moved first. Its Universal Co-Brokerage Agreement was revised effective January 1, 2024, requiring offers of compensation to a buyer's broker to come from the seller rather than the listing broker, months before the national deadline.78
How much is real estate commission in NYC right now?
There's no single number. NYC brokers commonly describe total commission as running 5% to 6%, split between the listing and buyer's brokers, though a 2025 national survey put the average total commission at 5.44%, and pre-settlement borough data found Manhattan running closer to 6% total against roughly 3% in parts of Brooklyn.5910
Do NYC sellers still typically pay the buyer's agent?
Yes, on most listings. NYC industry sources describe the practice as largely unchanged a year into the settlement: sellers still commonly offer buyer-agent compensation, and new-development sponsors have offered buyer's agents as much as 5% in some cases.6
Can I negotiate the commission rate with my listing broker?
Yes. Commission has always been a negotiated fee in New York, not a fixed cost, and nothing in the 2024 rule changes altered that; they only changed how offers of compensation to a buyer's broker are made and disclosed.27
What is REBNY's RLS, and is it the same as a regular MLS?
The Residential Listing Service (RLS) is REBNY's own listing platform for much of the Manhattan-area market, governed by REBNY's Universal Co-Brokerage Agreement rather than the standard NAR-affiliated MLS rules that apply in most of the country.57
What's a net listing, and why should I be cautious about one?
A net listing pays the agent whatever they negotiate above a floor price you set, instead of a fixed percentage or flat fee. It's a different pay structure with its own trade-offs, separate from the standard commission arrangements described above.
