Realtor Commission · Los Angeles County
How Much Is Realtor Commission in Los Angeles?
Justin Borges, DRE #01940318 · 13 min read · Updated July 26, 2026
Real estate commission in Los Angeles is fully negotiable and is never set by any board, association, or MLS. Since the August 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-agent compensation can no longer appear in Multiple Listing Service data at all, and California law under AB 2992 requires a written, negotiated buyer-representation agreement before an agent shows a home (NAR Settlement FAQs; DRE Consumer Alert).
Sources: NAR Settlement FAQs; DRE Consumer Alert, published December 12, 2024; California AB 2992 (effective January 1, 2025); NAR 2026 Summary of Key Professional Standards Changes (effective January 1, 2026). No commission percentage is set by any of these sources; all figures below sourced separately.
What You Will Learn
- What Changed About Realtor Commission After the NAR Settlement?
- Is Realtor Commission in Los Angeles Actually Negotiable?
- Who Pays the Buyer's Agent in a Los Angeles Transaction Now?
- What Do Industry Surveys Say About Los Angeles Commission Rates?
- When Do You Have to Sign a Buyer Representation Agreement in California?
- What Must a California Buyer-Representation Agreement Disclose?
- Can a Seller Still Help Pay the Buyer's Agent in Los Angeles?
- How Do You Negotiate Commission With a Los Angeles Listing Agent?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Changed About Realtor Commission After the NAR Settlement?
The National Association of Realtors settled a set of antitrust lawsuits in March 2024, and the resulting practice changes took effect nationwide, including across Los Angeles County, on August 17, 2024. Multiple Listing Services were required to eliminate every field that allowed a listing broker to publish an offer of buyer-broker compensation, and no compensation information of any kind may appear in an MLS listing, its remarks, or any attachment (NAR Settlement FAQs).
Before that date, a Los Angeles seller's listing broker could publish a specific commission split for a cooperating buyer's agent directly inside the MLS. That practice is gone. A buyer's agent now negotiates compensation directly with their own client in a signed written agreement, separate from anything the MLS displays.
Nobody sets a commission for you in Los Angeles. Not NAR, not C.A.R., not the DRE, not any MLS. You negotiate it, in writing, with your own agent.
Justin Borges, CA DRE #01940318Is Realtor Commission in Los Angeles Actually Negotiable?
Yes, and this is not a courtesy line agents add to sound flexible. It is the literal legal and contractual reality both before and after the settlement. No government agency, trade association, or MLS covering Los Angeles County publishes, recommends, or requires any commission percentage. A seller negotiates a listing fee directly with their chosen brokerage, and a buyer negotiates their own agent's compensation in a separate written agreement.
California's DRE has been explicit on this point in its own consumer guidance: commission is not set by law, is not standardized across the industry, and is fully open to negotiation in every Los Angeles transaction, whether the client is buying a starter condo in Glendale or a multi-unit property in Long Beach (DRE Consumer Alert, 12/12/2024).
Who Pays the Buyer's Agent in a Los Angeles Transaction Now?
A buyer in Los Angeles now pays their own agent according to the terms of a signed written buyer-representation agreement, which must state the compensation as a specific dollar amount, an hourly rate, or a percentage, never an open-ended figure (DRE Consumer Alert, 12/12/2024).
- Buyer pays directly. The buyer pays their agent out of pocket per the signed agreement terms.
- Seller concession. The buyer can ask the seller to cover some or all of that cost as a credit inside the purchase offer, but the seller must accept it; nothing is automatic.
- Off-MLS broker offer. A seller's listing broker may still offer to pay a cooperating buyer's agent, communicated broker to broker outside the MLS system, since publishing it inside the MLS itself is what the settlement banned (NAR Settlement FAQs).
A general buyer concession toward closing costs can still be advertised on the MLS in Los Angeles County. What cannot appear on the MLS is a specific offer of compensation earmarked for a buyer's broker.
What Do Industry Surveys Say About Los Angeles Commission Rates?
No government or association source publishes a typical or average commission rate for Los Angeles County, because publishing one would itself risk implying a standard, the exact theory the settlement's antitrust claims were built on. The figures below come only from private industry surveys and should be read as observed market averages, not a fee schedule anyone in a Los Angeles transaction should expect, target, or be quoted as normal.
| Survey Source | Survey Period | Total Commission, Combined | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| ListWithClever / Clever Real Estate | February 2026 | Approximately 5.67% | 27 Los Angeles-market agents, part of a 533-agent national panel |
| Real Estate Witch | September 2025 | Approximately 5.03% | California statewide, same survey methodology family |
| ListWithClever / Clever Real Estate | February 2026 | Approximately 5.70% (national) | Included only for national comparison |
Notice the range moves from survey to survey within the same year, roughly 5.03% to 5.67% across two different private studies. That variance is itself evidence these are market observations, not a fixed rate, and every commission in every Los Angeles transaction is still individually negotiated between the parties regardless of what any survey reports.
When Do You Have to Sign a Buyer Representation Agreement in California?
Two separate deadlines apply, and a Los Angeles buyer should understand both. Under the NAR practice rule effective August 17, 2024, a written buyer-representation agreement is required before an agent tours a home with a buyer, in person or by live virtual showing.
| Rule | Trigger | Effective Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAR practice rule | Before an agent tours a home with a buyer | August 17, 2024 | NAR Settlement FAQs |
| California AB 2992 | No later than the buyer's written offer to purchase | January 1, 2025 | DRE Consumer Alert, 12/12/2024 |
California's statutory deadline under AB 2992 is technically later than the touring-based NAR rule, so a Los Angeles buyer could tour a home under the state-law timeline before the NAR-timeline agreement is strictly due. In practice, most Los Angeles brokerages ask for the written agreement before the first showing either way, to avoid managing two different clocks on the same transaction.
What Must a California Buyer-Representation Agreement Disclose?
California's requirement, layered on top of the NAR practice rule, is specific about content, not just timing. A buyer-representation agreement used anywhere in Los Angeles County must state the buyer's agent compensation as a specific dollar amount or percentage, describe the services the agent will render, state when compensation is due, and include a conspicuous disclosure that compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable (DRE Consumer Alert, 12/12/2024).
C.A.R.'s Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement form is the version most Los Angeles brokerages use to meet this requirement, and its 2026 revision caps the agreement at the dates the parties specify, or 90 days from the start date, whichever comes sooner (C.A.R. Buyer Representation and Broker Compensation Agreement form, 2026 revision).
Can a Seller Still Help Pay the Buyer's Agent in Los Angeles?
Yes, in two distinct ways. First, a seller can accept a buyer's request for a credit toward buyer-agent compensation, negotiated directly in the purchase offer; the seller can also decline it. Second, a Los Angeles listing broker can still make a direct, off-MLS offer of compensation to a cooperating buyer's broker, communicated broker to broker rather than published anywhere inside the MLS (NAR Settlement FAQs).
Before August 17, 2024
After August 17, 2024
How Do You Negotiate Commission With a Los Angeles Listing Agent?
Negotiation starts with a direct conversation, not a form. A Los Angeles seller can ask a listing agent to explain exactly what marketing, staging guidance, negotiation, and transaction management their fee covers, then compare that scope against another brokerage's proposal before signing anything.
- Ask what is included. Marketing budget, professional photography, staging consultation, and transaction coordination vary agent to agent even at the same fee level.
- Get it in writing early. A listing agreement or buyer-representation agreement should state the exact compensation before any services begin, per California's disclosure requirements.
- Compare, do not assume a floor. Since no board or MLS sets a rate, there is no legal minimum a Los Angeles agent must charge, and no legal maximum either; the number is whatever the parties agree to.
A seller or buyer who wants a second opinion on scope and pricing before signing anything is always entitled to ask for one; nothing in California law or NAR's rules requires exclusivity before that conversation happens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is realtor commission in Los Angeles set by law or by NAR?
No. Realtor commission in Los Angeles is never set, recommended, or fixed by NAR, C.A.R., the DRE, or any MLS. Every commission is individually negotiated between a client and their own agent or broker (NAR Settlement FAQs).
Who pays the buyer's agent commission in California now?
The buyer pays their agent according to the terms of a signed written buyer-representation agreement. A buyer can ask the seller to cover some or all of that cost as a credit in the purchase offer, but the seller must agree to it; it is not automatic (NAR Settlement FAQs).
What is the average realtor commission in Los Angeles?
No government or association source publishes an average rate. Private industry surveys have found Los Angeles-area total commissions (listing plus buyer side combined) running approximately 5.03% to 5.67%, but this is survey data, not a fee schedule, and every transaction is negotiated on its own terms.
Do I have to sign a buyer-agency agreement before touring a home in Los Angeles?
Under the NAR practice changes effective August 17, 2024, a written buyer-representation agreement is required before an agent tours a home with a buyer. California's AB 2992 sets its own, separate deadline: no later than the buyer's written offer (NAR Settlement FAQs; DRE Consumer Alert, 12/12/2024).
Can a seller still offer to pay the buyer's agent commission?
Yes. A seller and listing broker may still offer buyer-broker compensation, but it can no longer be published inside the MLS itself; the offer must be communicated broker to broker outside the MLS system, or negotiated as a buyer concession in the purchase offer (NAR Settlement FAQs).
What happened to the MLS commission field after the NAR settlement?
It was eliminated. Effective August 17, 2024, MLSs nationwide, including those covering Los Angeles County, removed broker-compensation fields, and no compensation information may appear anywhere in an MLS listing, remarks, or attachment (NAR Settlement FAQs).
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