Are buyer agent commissions going down after the NAR settlement? No. Average buyer agent commissions rose from 2.67% in March 2025 to 2.82% in February 2026. The agents losing fee leverage are the ones who never learned to articulate their value.

Everyone predicted buyer commissions would collapse. They didn’t.

A year past the NAR settlement, the average buyer agent commission climbed from 2.67% in March 2025 to 2.82% in February 2026 — a 5.62% relative increase, according to commission tracking data published by Clever and reinforced by CNBC’s one-year retrospective. Total commission across both sides of the deal now sits at 5.70%, the highest level since 2021.

If you were waiting for “the market” to settle your fee for you, the data is in: it isn’t.

What actually changed is that the conversation moved to the front of the relationship. Buyers now sign a written representation agreement before they tour a single home, and that agreement has to state your fee in objectively ascertainable terms — a specific percentage, flat dollar amount, or hourly rate. No more “whatever the seller is offering.” The agents getting paid are the ones who learned to defend the number on that form.

Here’s what’s happening in our market and three scripts that work.

The Augusta Reality Check

In Columbia County and the greater Augusta market, I’m seeing two clean patterns since the rules changed. Agents who treated buyer consultations like an intake meeting are getting beat on fee. Agents who treat the consultation like a listing presentation — pre-meeting package, net sheet, signed agreement, and a service guarantee — are getting paid 2.5% to 3% without flinching.

Our Fort Eisenhower buyers don’t shop fee. PCS timelines, VA loan literacy, and a referral pipeline that survives a permanent change of station are what they’re shopping for. The agents losing here aren’t losing on price; they’re losing on positioning.

Why Fees Went Up, Not Down

The settlement was supposed to commoditize buyer representation. Instead it did the opposite. When a fee has to be discussed openly, written into a contract, and signed before anyone gets in your car, the buyer is no longer comparison-shopping on price alone — they’re evaluating whether they trust you. That favors agents who can articulate value.

Three things are driving the increase. First, forced articulation: every buyer now has to hear an agent explain their fee out loud, and bad explanations lose while good ones close above the market average. Second, buyer-paid optionality: when the seller doesn’t cover the full fee, buyers compare the gap against what they’d pay an attorney, a transaction coordinator, and a CMA specialist combined — the math usually favors the agent. Third, reduced agent count: NAR membership contracted through 2024 and 2025, so fewer agents chasing the same buyers means less downward pressure on price.

Three Scripts That Defend Your Fee

These aren’t theoretical. Use them at your next buyer consultation.

Script 1: The Pre-Tour Positioning Script

Use this before you ever present the agreement: “Before we talk about properties, I want to walk you through how I work and what it costs. The buyer representation agreement is required before I show you a home — that part isn’t negotiable. The fee on it is, but only on the front end. Once we sign, the number is locked. Most of my buyers are surprised at how clear this makes the process compared to how it used to work.”

What this does: it frames the agreement as protection for them, not a trap. It also sets the expectation that the fee conversation happens now, not at offer time when they have less leverage and so do you.

Script 2: The “Why Is Your Fee That Number” Script

When they push on the percentage: “My fee is 2.75%. Here’s what that pays for: a private MLS search built around your criteria, a CMA on every home you want to write on, negotiation with a seller’s agent who’s been doing this longer than most attorneys have practiced law, and a transaction coordinator who keeps the file clean from contract to close. If you hired those four services separately, you’d spend more and coordinate it yourself. I do it as one fee, and I only get paid when you close.”

What this does: it converts the percentage into a service stack. The buyer stops comparing your fee against another agent’s fee and starts comparing it against their own time and risk.

Script 3: The Lower Co-Op Offer Script

When the listing offers less than your contracted fee — this comes up constantly post-settlement: “The seller on this property is offering 2% to the buyer’s agent. Our agreement is 2.75%. That leaves a 0.75% gap. You have three options: we ask the seller to cover the difference as part of the offer, we build it into the financed purchase price if the appraisal supports it, or you cover it directly at closing. I’ll show you all three on paper before we write. Which one fits depends on the home and how competitive the offer needs to be.”

What this does: it removes the surprise and the panic. Buyers who’ve been walked through the math in advance don’t bail at the closing table.

What This Means for the Rest of 2026

The agents writing the best business right now treat the buyer consultation as a paid product. They have a deck, a net sheet, a service guarantee, and a fee they can defend in two sentences. The agents struggling are still trying to “build rapport” and figure out the fee at offer time.

The settlement didn’t kill the buyer-side business. It killed lazy positioning. According to Inman’s coverage of objection handling and the Tim and Julie Harris 2026 buyer agreement breakdown, top performers are signing buyers at higher fee percentages than they did pre-settlement. CNBC’s one-year retrospective covered the same data shift in detail. The conversation isn’t harder — it’s just earlier.

FAQ

Do I have to lower my fee if the listing offers less than my contracted rate? No. Your fee is set in the buyer agreement. If the seller’s offer doesn’t cover it, the gap gets negotiated into the offer, added to the financed price (if the appraisal allows), or paid by the buyer. The math has three legal paths — you choose with the client.

What’s the right percentage to put on a buyer representation agreement in 2026? The market average is 2.82%. In our market, I’m seeing 2.5% to 3% as the working range. If you can’t defend the number in two sentences, your number is too high for your articulation. Fix the articulation first.

Should I ever sign a buyer for an open-ended fee? No. The agreement has to be objectively ascertainable per the NAR settlement terms — a specific percentage, flat fee, or hourly rate. “Whatever the seller offers” is not compliant.

Want to Be Part of a Team That Operates Like This?

Reach out — let’s talk.

Noah McBride | Broker | The McBride Team | 706.701.5940 | Guiding you home

Go sell something. — Noah