Home buyers, your first 29 house payments pay for the buyer agent commission

Recently, a buyer asked me “why are buyer agents still being paid 2.5% of the home price?” All I could say is that commissions have been artificially inflated by price fixing in the industry for years, which led to a monumental, $800+ million lawsuit settlement that changed the rules in August of 2024 between the National Association of Realtors and consumers.

This home buyer wasn’t some naive newbie. This was someone who’d done their homework, someone who knew the game was changing, someone who wasn’t afraid to call BS on a broken system.

The thing is, that single question exposes the whole rigged system that’s been propping up the traditional real estate industry for far too long. And if you’re a home buyer, it’s the question that can save you thousands.

The Realtor Industry’s Dirty Little Secret

For years, the real estate machine has been chugging along, telling you that buyer agents are “free“. That they’re doing all this “work” for you out of the goodness of their hearts.

This is simply not true.

That 2.5% (or more!) commission? It’s baked right into the price of the home. You’re paying it, whether you realize it or not. It comes straight from your money. That is why you don’t start paying off the house you purchased until payment #30. The first 29 payments pay for the buyer agent commission concealed in the home price you paid. (Based on a 30 year mortgage at 6% interest with a 3% buyer agent commission)

And what do you get for it? Someone to unlock doors and parrot back information you could find yourself online. They spend a few hours on your purchase agreement and inspection, hand the file off to the title company and show up at closing to collect that fat check.

This same home buyer who asked the question just closed on their home purchase through BuySelf’s cash back home buying service, and received a total credit of around $11,000.