You read the headline. Something about commissions being eliminated. Or sellers no longer paying buyer's agents. Or the whole real estate industry changing forever.
Then you went to buy a house in Union or Washington, signed a buyer representation agreement, and it all looked... mostly the same.
That's because most of what you read was wrong.
The NAR settlement that took effect in August 2024 made two specific, real changes to how real estate transactions work. The rest — the dramatic predictions about commission collapse and industry upheaval — didn't materialize in any meaningful way in markets like Franklin County. Understanding what actually changed, what didn't, and what it means for you as a home buyer in Missouri is worth ten minutes of your time before your next purchase.
Note: If you've visited our Buyers FAQ page, you may have seen a line stating that the seller pays the commission from their proceeds through a "co-op" arrangement. That language reflects the pre-2024 system and is being updated. This post explains what replaced it.
What Did the NAR Settlement Actually Change for Home Buyers in Missouri?
The NAR settlement made exactly two practice changes effective August 17, 2024: buyer broker compensation can no longer be advertised on MLS platforms, and buyers must sign a written representation agreement with their agent before touring a home — neither of which eliminated buyer agent commissions or fundamentally changed who pays them in most Missouri transactions.
Real estate agents who use and list properties on a Multiple Listing Service are now required to enter into written agreements with buyers before touring a home. Those written agreements must include a specific disclosure of the amount or rate of compensation the agent will receive, a term prohibiting the agent from receiving compensation exceeding the agreed amount, and a conspicuous statement that broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law.
The second change: offers of compensation to buyer's brokers can no longer be communicated through the MLS — not in listing fields, not in public remarks, not in private remarks. Sellers and listing brokers can still offer to compensate a buyer's agent — they just can't advertise that offer in the MLS itself. That negotiation now happens off the MLS, by phone, email, in the purchase contract, or through other channels.
That's it. Two changes. Both real, both meaningful, both significantly less dramatic than the coverage suggested.
What didn't change: sellers still decide whether to offer buyer's agent compensation. Commission is still negotiated. The conversation moved off the MLS. The substance of the conversation stayed the same.
It's also worth knowing where this started. In 2019, Missouri home sellers filed a class-action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, claiming antitrust violations and alleging its practices inflated real estate agent commissions. In October 2023, a jury sided with the Missouri home sellers, awarding a $1.78 billion verdict. The settlement that followed, and the practice changes that resulted, originated right here in Missouri.
Do Franklin County Home Buyers Have to Pay Their Agent Out of Pocket Under the New Rules?
Most Franklin County home buyers in 2026 are not paying their buyer's agent out of pocket — sellers in the Missouri market continue to commonly offer buyer agent compensation as part of the transaction, structured as a seller concession rather than an MLS-advertised commission split.
This is the most persistent misconception from the 2024 coverage — that buyers would now routinely be responsible for paying their agent directly, creating a new cash burden that most buyers couldn't absorb.
When a seller pays the buyer's agent commission from sale proceeds, it gets factored into the sale price and absorbed into the appraised value of the home. The buyer effectively finances it inside their loan. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac confirmed in 2024 that seller-paid buyer broker compensation, when consistent with local custom, does not count against Interested Party Contribution limits.
A seller who refuses to offer buyer's agent compensation isn't saving money in any clean sense. They're forcing a cash burden onto buyers who may not be able to absorb it, shrinking their buyer pool, and potentially leaving more money on the table in net proceeds than they save in commission.
The economic logic that kept seller-paid buyer agent compensation as the predominant model before August 2024 didn't change on August 17, 2024. The mechanism for communicating that compensation changed. The underlying practice, in the Franklin County market, has remained largely consistent.
What Is a Buyer Representation Agreement and What Should Franklin County Buyers Know Before Signing One?
A buyer representation agreement is a written contract between you and your real estate agent that specifies the services your agent will provide, the compensation they will receive, and the terms of your working relationship — and under the new rules, you must sign one before your agent shows you a property.
This is the change that affects the practical experience of buying a home in Franklin County most directly. Where you might have previously toured homes with an agent and gotten to know them over several showings before formalizing the relationship, the agreement now comes first.
Written agreements are required for both in-person and live virtual home tours. You do not need a written agreement if you are simply speaking to an agent at an open house or asking about their services.
What the agreement must include: a specific and conspicuous disclosure of the amount or rate of compensation the real estate agent will receive or how that amount will be determined, a term prohibiting the agent from receiving compensation exceeding the agreed amount from any source, and a conspicuous statement that broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law.
Several things are worth understanding before you sign. The compensation amount is negotiable — the agreement must say so, and it is true. The term length matters — a twelve-month exclusive agreement with no exit clause is a different commitment than a shorter agreement or one limited to specific properties. Read the agreement before signing, ask questions about any term you don't fully understand, and confirm that the compensation structure is clear, specific, and not open-ended.
At Dolan Realtors, we've been guiding Franklin County buyers through real estate transactions since 1908. The buyer representation agreement is the conversation we welcome — because a buyer who understands what they're signing is a buyer who can focus on finding the right home rather than worrying about the process.
How Do Sellers in the Washington and Union, MO Area Handle Buyer Agent Compensation Under the New Rules?
Most sellers in the Washington and Union, MO area continue to offer buyer agent compensation as part of their listing strategy — structured as a seller concession rather than an MLS-advertised commission — because the buyer pool for a Franklin County home is larger when buyers can use an agent without absorbing the compensation cost directly.
The mechanism changed. The strategy didn't.
Before August 2024, a seller's agent would include the offered buyer agent compensation directly in the MLS listing. Every buyer's agent looking at the listing could see immediately what the seller was offering. The conversation was public and standardized.
After August 2024, that negotiation happens off the MLS — by phone, email, in the purchase contract, or through other channels. The seller's agent communicates the seller's willingness to offer buyer agent compensation through direct agent-to-agent contact or through the terms of an accepted offer rather than through the listing itself.
For sellers in Franklin County, the practical question is still the same one it has always been: does offering buyer agent compensation attract a larger, stronger buyer pool and produce a better net outcome than not offering it? In the local market, the answer to that question remains the same as it was before the settlement took effect.
For buyers, the practical question is whether to ask for seller-paid buyer agent compensation as part of your offer — which is both legal and common, and which your Dolan agent can help you navigate as part of offer strategy. For a fuller picture of how these changes affect both sides of the transaction in Franklin County, see our dedicated post on how the 2024 NAR commission changes affect buyers and sellers in Franklin County, Missouri.
What Questions Should Franklin County Home Buyers Ask Their Agent Before Signing a Buyer Representation Agreement?
The questions worth asking before signing a buyer representation agreement are: what is the specific compensation amount or rate, who pays it and under what circumstances would I be responsible for it, how long is the agreement's term, and what happens if I want to end the relationship before the term expires.
Compensation specifics: The agreement must state a specific amount or rate — not "market rate" or "whatever the seller offers" or any other open-ended formulation. If the compensation isn't clearly and specifically stated, that's a question worth asking before you sign.
Who pays: The agreement will specify that you as the buyer are ultimately responsible for ensuring your agent is compensated. In practice, your agent will work to structure the transaction so the seller covers this cost — but understanding what you're responsible for if the seller doesn't offer compensation is important before you're in the middle of a transaction.
Term length: A twelve-month exclusive agreement is a significant commitment. Understand what you're agreeing to, whether there's an exit provision, and whether the agreement is limited to specific properties or covers any home you might buy during the term.
Exit provisions: If you're not satisfied with your agent's services, what are your options? The agreement should have clear language about how the relationship can end if it isn't working.
These are questions any experienced, confident agent welcomes. An agent who's uncomfortable with these questions before you sign an agreement is giving you information worth having.
FAQ
Do I have to sign a buyer representation agreement before looking at homes in Missouri?
Yes. Under the rules that took effect August 17, 2024, you must sign a written agreement with your agent before they show you a property. The exception is open houses — you can speak with a listing agent at an open house or ask about their services without a written agreement in place.
Will I have to pay my buyer's agent out of pocket to buy a home in Franklin County?
Not necessarily. Most sellers in the Franklin County market continue to offer buyer agent compensation structured as a seller concession, which means your agent is typically compensated from sale proceeds rather than directly from you. Whether and how a seller offers this compensation is negotiated as part of the transaction — your Dolan agent can help you structure offers that address this appropriately.
Are real estate agent commissions negotiable in Missouri?
Yes. Agent compensation for home buyers and sellers continues to be fully negotiable and is not set by law. Your buyer representation agreement must state this clearly, and it is genuinely true — compensation amounts vary and are the product of agreement between you and your agent.
What's the difference between the old commission system and the new system for buyer agent compensation?
Under the old system, sellers advertised buyer agent compensation directly in the MLS listing. Under the new system, that compensation is negotiated off-MLS through direct communication between agents or through the terms of an accepted purchase offer. The result in most Franklin County transactions is similar to the old system — sellers commonly offer compensation that covers the buyer's agent — but the communication mechanism is different.
Can a seller in Union or Washington, MO choose not to offer buyer agent compensation?
Yes. Sellers are not required to offer buyer agent compensation. However, a seller who doesn't offer it is asking buyers to come up with that cost in cash at closing — which reduces the pool of buyers who can comfortably afford the home and may affect the seller's net proceeds. Most sellers in the Franklin County market weigh this tradeoff and continue to offer compensation.
How long should a buyer representation agreement last?
There's no single right answer — agreement terms vary. Shorter agreements of 30 to 90 days or property-specific agreements are appropriate for buyers still early in their search. Longer commitments make more sense for buyers with a clear, specific search already underway. Any agreement longer than 90 days should include clear exit provisions and termination language you understand before signing.
Does the NAR settlement affect commercial real estate transactions?
Most commercial real estate transactions are unaffected by these changes. Commercial listings generally appear on commercial information exchanges rather than MLS and do not include an offer of compensation in the same structure.
Who filed the original NAR lawsuit?
In 2019, Missouri home sellers filed a class-action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, claiming antitrust violations and alleging that its practices inflated real estate agent commissions. In October 2023, a jury sided with the Missouri home sellers, awarding a $1.78 billion verdict. Missouri is where this all started — which makes it particularly relevant context for Franklin County buyers and sellers navigating the resulting rule changes.
The Headlines Made This Sound Bigger Than It Is. Understanding Two Changes Is All It Takes.
You sign an agreement earlier in the process. Your agent negotiates compensation differently. The outcome for most Franklin County buyers in 2026 is similar to what it was before.
What matters is understanding those two changes clearly before you're in the middle of a transaction. We've been helping Franklin County buyers and sellers navigate real estate — through every market shift and rule change — since 1908.
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