In the weeks after commission offers were removed from the MLS last year, RISMedia offered the first glimpse of how this long-contemplated policy affected your bottom line. Somewhere between the predictions of doomsayers and Pollyannas lay the truth—the new policies brought on a sharp drop in commissions immediately following the implementation of the mandated rule changes, which impacted less-experienced agents and buyer agents, in-line with expected impacts from a new world of commission negotiations and sharing.
One year later though, after other sources reported what appeared to be a rebound in commission rates, RISMedia is diving into a full year of data post-settlement with our fourth-annual Contract & Commission Study. While it appears commission rates did, in fact, snap back from their initial plunge, the devil is always in the details, and this report will reveal the shifts, exceptions and trends that are affecting your business and your industry, including:
- Where in the country commissions rebounded, what types of agents saw the largest shifts and how these trends fit into historic norms.
- If agents and brokers are more or less productive on average compared to the pandemic boom, and which types of brokerages have the most productive agents.
- Whether agents and brokers are amending buyer contracts or “hogging” extra commission.
- How brokerage model and experience does—or doesn’t—affect your commission post-settlement.
- How companies have adapted their fees, splits and other offerings to a post-settlement world.
…And much more!
Don’t rely on national media headlines or outside pundits to report on what’s happening in our industry. Read the 2025 Contract & Commission Study today!
Section 1: The Commission Correction
How commissions rebounded from last year, disparities between regions and how experience and brokerage models affect commissions.
Section 2: The Next Chapter
How common practices have or haven’t shifted since the settlement, including so-called “workarounds.”
Section 3: Ripples and Aftershocks
Whether splits and fees changed since last year, and how focus has shifted between buy- and sell-side.
Section 4: The Evolving Agent
The number of transactions the average agent is closing in a down market, how productive part-timers were and agent/broker expectations for the future.
