The NAR Settlement, Explained for California Sellers

In 2024, a national settlement involving the National Association of Realtors changed how real estate commissions are handled. The headlines were loud and confusing. The practical reality for a California seller is simpler than it sounded.

What actually changed

Effective August 17, 2024, buyer-broker compensation is no longer advertised through the MLS. It is now a term of negotiation between the seller and the buyer-broker, documented in writing before tours begin. The automatic assumption that the seller pays the buyer's agent a set percentage is gone.

Commissions were always negotiable

Here is the part worth repeating: real estate commissions are negotiable by California statute and are not set by law. The settlement did not create that right. It ended a convention that made the old percentages feel mandatory. They never were.

What it means for your net

More of the cost of selling is now explicitly yours to decide. That is a good thing if you treat it as a decision instead of a default. The listing-side cost, the buyer-side terms, and how you market the home all become choices you make with your broker, in writing.

A flat fee fits this new world cleanly. Guided Home Realty charges a flat $999 at signing plus $5,000 at close for the listing side — $5,999 total — and the buyer-side terms are negotiated openly as part of your strategy, not buried inside a fixed percentage.

What did not change

• ·Your home still goes on the same MLS, seen by the same buyers
• ·You still work with a licensed California broker who owes you a fiduciary duty
• ·You still provide the same legally required disclosures
• ·You still control the price you pay to sell