Who Pays the Buyer's Agent in Connecticut Now?

Quick answer: Since August 17, 2024, buyer-agent compensation is no longer advertised on the MLS, and buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. Connecticut sellers are not required to pay the buyer's agent — but many still offer a concession, because it can widen the buyer pool. It is now a pricing decision, not a default.

What actually changed in 2024

As part of the National Association of Realtors settlement, three practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024:

• Offers of compensation can no longer be published on the MLS. Listing brokers may still discuss compensation with buyer agents, just not through the MLS.

• Buyers must sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. That agreement has to state the agent's compensation specifically, not in open-ended language.

• Commissions are negotiable, and listing agreements must say so conspicuously. This applies to both sides of the deal.

What did not change: sellers can still offer concessions, and an MLS may show that concessions are available. The money can still move from the seller to the buyer side. It just has to be negotiated deal by deal rather than broadcast in advance.

So who pays the buyer's agent in Connecticut?

It depends on the deal. In practice there are three common outcomes:

• The buyer pays their own agent under the terms of the agreement they signed.

• The seller offers a concession at closing that the buyer applies to their agent's fee, their closing costs, or a rate buydown.

• It gets negotiated into the price — the buyer asks for a credit, and the two sides settle somewhere in the middle.

The important shift for sellers: you are no longer agreeing to a buyer-side number when you sign the listing. You decide, offer by offer, what you are willing to contribute.

Should you offer a concession?

There is no universal right answer, but a few things are consistently true:

• Buyers at the lower end of the market are usually tight on cash. A concession there can be the difference between an offer and no offer.

• A concession is negotiable in amount and in form. It does not have to be a percentage — a flat dollar figure is common and easier to underwrite.

• What matters to you is your net, not the label on the line item. A $460,000 price with a $10,000 concession and a $450,000 price with none land in the same place.

• Refusing to consider any concession can quietly shrink your buyer pool, especially among first-time buyers using FHA or CHFA financing.

The right way to handle it is to price the home properly, see what offers come in, and treat any buyer-side contribution as one more negotiable term alongside price, closing date and inspection.

What this means for your listing agreement

Read the compensation section of any listing agreement carefully. You are agreeing to what your broker earns. Anything paid to the buyer's side should be a separate, explicit decision, not folded into one number you cannot see inside.

Our listing fee is 1% of the sale price plus a small transaction fee. Whether to offer a buyer concession stays your call, made when you have a real offer in front of you and can see exactly what it does to your net. Full details are on the 1% listing page.

Questions Connecticut sellers keep asking

Do I have to pay the buyer's agent? No. There is no law or rule requiring it. It is a negotiation.

Will buyer agents skip my listing if I do not offer anything up front? Agents are obligated to show properties that meet their client's criteria, and buyers find homes themselves through the portals regardless. The compensation conversation typically happens when an offer is being written.

Is a concession the same as a price cut? Economically, close to it — but a concession helps a buyer who has enough income to qualify and not quite enough cash to close, which a price cut does not always solve.

Does this change what I net? It changes where the money shows up. The way to stay in control is to know your costs before you list — start with what it costs to sell a house in Connecticut.

Get a straight answer on your situation

If you are weighing a sale in Connecticut and want to see the actual math — price, concession scenarios, conveyance tax, net at the bottom — get in touch, or start with a valuation on our home value page.

General information, not legal advice. Commission and compensation practices are negotiable and vary by brokerage.