New - Just Now
$370,000
Active
4
Beds
2
Baths
1350
Sqft
0.28
Acres
3312 Masonwood Dr, Nashville, TN 37207
MLS#: RTC3323199
Nashville Sellers | Commission Strategy
Do Nashville Sellers Have to Pay the Buyer's Agent?
No. You never did. But whether you should is a real strategy question, and it moves your net proceeds either way.
Tennessee law has never required a seller to pay the buyer's agent. The 2024 NAR settlement removed the MLS rule that made it feel mandatory. Offering buyer-broker compensation is now a negotiable decision you make with your listing agent before you go to market, and it affects your net proceeds, your offer volume, and how aggressively buyer's agents put your home in front of their clients.
What Changed in 2024, and What Didn't
The rules about how buyer-agent compensation gets communicated changed a great deal. The freedom to negotiate it was always there.
Under the old model, RealTracs — the MLS serving Middle Tennessee — included a field where the listing broker published an offer of compensation to cooperating buyer's brokers. Every agent searching for homes could see it. That created a de facto norm where sellers routinely covered both sides, even though no Tennessee statute ever said they had to.
As of August 17, 2024, that field is gone. NAR-affiliated MLSs can no longer require a listing broker to make an offer of compensation to buyer brokers, and they cannot condition MLS access on making one.
What the settlement did not do is outlaw seller-paid buyer-agent compensation. Sellers are still free to fund it as part of a negotiated deal. The practice didn't disappear. It just stopped being wired into the MLS and moved into the purchase contract, where it always belonged.
What Tennessee law says
Tennessee's license statute defines a broker as someone acting for another for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration. It says nothing about which party has to pay that fee. Under Tennessee Code Annotated §62-13-312(b)(9) and §62-13-404(2), a written agency agreement has to spell out the terms of broker compensation, and a licensee needs written consent before accepting payment from more than one party. That framework confirms what we've told sellers for two decades: compensation is a contract term, not a legal obligation on either side.
One more piece worth knowing. Tennessee requires that compensation paid to an affiliate broker flow through that broker's employing broker. It says nothing about whether the money originates with the buyer or the seller. That part is purely contractual.
How compensation gets communicated now
Since RealTracs can't display a required offer of compensation, listing brokers use other channels:
- A RealTracs field indicating the seller is open to negotiating concessions, which syndicates out to Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin
- Broker remarks and direct agent-to-agent conversation
- Off-MLS marketing and cooperative agreements between brokerages
- The purchase offer itself, where the buyer simply asks
Buyers now sign representation agreements before they tour homes, so their agent's fee gets settled early. That means the compensation conversation reaches your listing sooner than it used to, and often as a line item inside the offer. For more on how these changes have landed locally, see our post on Nashville real estate commission changes in 2026.
Should You Offer It? The Case Both Ways
There's no universal answer. It depends on your home, your price point, your neighborhood, and what the market is doing the week you list.
👍 The case for offering it
Most buyers are already stretched between down payment and closing costs. Asking them to also cover their agent out of pocket shrinks your buyer pool, and it hits first-time buyers hardest. In a market with more inventory than we've seen in years, that's a meaningful trade.
Buyer's agents are also more likely to prioritize homes where their compensation is clearly addressed. That isn't a conspiracy. It's human nature, and it shows up in your showing count.
Sellers who opt out entirely tend to see longer days on market, fewer showings, and a lower eventual sale price. Some buyers will instruct their agent not to show homes that offer no help at all.
👎 The case for leaving it to the buyer
In higher price segments — parts of Brentwood, Franklin, Belle Meade, 12 South — buyers more often have the cash to cover their own representation. A seller who declines there may face less resistance than a seller in Donelson, Hermitage, or Antioch, where buyers are financing a larger share and have less cash on hand.
There are also situations where net proceeds are the binding constraint. If you need every dollar to make the next purchase work, the question becomes whether the competitive cost of not offering is worth the savings. That calculation is specific to your house.
The Numbers, Worked Out
Here's where our 2% listing fee changes the math. We own our brokerage and pay no broker split, which is why we can charge 2% instead of the 3% that's common around here. That difference gives you room to stay competitive on buyer-broker compensation without absorbing the full cost of it.
Take a $500,000 sale. The 2.5% buyer-broker figure below is used only to make the comparison readable. There is no standard or customary rate, and any number you offer is yours to set.
| Scenario | Listing Fee | Buyer-Broker | Total Brokerage Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional 3% listing, buyer-broker offered | $15,000 | $12,500 | $27,500 |
| Our 2% listing, same buyer-broker offer | $10,000 | $12,500 | $22,500 |
| Our 2% listing, no buyer-broker offer | $10,000 | $0 | $10,000 |
Brokerage fees only. Title, transfer tax, recording fees, payoff, prorations, and any seller credits are separate. Rates shown are illustrative, not standard, and every one of them is negotiable.
The middle row is the point. Listing with us and offering full buyer-broker compensation costs $5,000 less than the traditional structure — roughly 40% of the buyer-side offer, absorbed on our side instead of yours. You get to stay competitive with every other listing in your price range without paying for the privilege twice.
What's Fixed and What's Negotiable
| Cost or Fee | Fixed or Negotiable? | Who Typically Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Listing broker compensation | Fully negotiable | Seller, set in the listing agreement |
| Buyer-broker compensation | Fully negotiable | Seller, buyer, or split — varies by contract |
| State realty transfer tax | Rate set by Tennessee statute | Allocation negotiable — confirm with your closing officer |
| Recording fees | Set by county fee schedule | Allocation negotiable |
| Owner's title insurance policy | Negotiable | Negotiable by contract |
| Home warranty | Negotiable | Often seller-paid as a concession |
| Seller credit toward buyer closing costs | Negotiable | Seller, subject to lender limits |
The amounts for state and county charges are set by statute and fee schedule. Which party pays them is negotiable. Broker compensation on both sides is fully negotiable and never set by law. There is no standard, typical, or customary rate — not in Nashville, not anywhere. What you pay is what's written in your listing agreement.
If you want the full picture beyond commission, we break it down in closing costs when selling a house in Nashville.
Four Questions to Settle Before You List
1. Where does your home sit in its segment?
Are you likely to draw multiple offers, or will you be competing for attention? A home in a range where buyers are stretched needs a different approach than one where cash buyers are common. Your agent should be able to show you what comparable listings nearby have done and how long they took to sell.
2. How will buyer's agents find out?
Ask your agent to walk you through it specifically. Which RealTracs field, what broker remarks say, whether they'll be calling agents directly. If the answer is vague, that's worth pressing on. Compensation you're willing to pay does you no good if nobody knows about it.
3. What happens when an offer asks for it?
Expect most offers to request buy-side compensation in some amount. You can accept, counter, or decline. It's a negotiation like price or closing date. Contract-to-close in Nashville generally runs 30 to 45 days depending on financing and inspections, so issues that surface during underwriting can be handled by amendment — but it's much cleaner to have decided your position before you go live. Compensation can also be structured as a seller concession, which sits differently in the contract and interacts with the buyer's loan. Your agent and their lender both need to know how it's documented.
4. What does it do to your net?
Every dollar you offer is a dollar that doesn't come back at closing. Whether the trade is worth it depends entirely on your situation. We run these numbers with every seller before we talk list price, because the two decisions are connected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Nashville sellers still have to pay the buyer's agent after the NAR settlement?
No. Tennessee law has never required it, and the 2024 settlement removed the MLS rule that made it feel required. You can offer buyer-broker compensation, decline to, or negotiate it inside an individual transaction. Whether it makes strategic sense depends on your home, your price point, and what your neighborhood is doing.
How do buyer's agents see compensation in RealTracs now?
Not as a required field, because that's gone. RealTracs has a field indicating the seller is open to negotiating concessions, which syndicates to Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin. Beyond that it travels through broker remarks, direct agent conversation, and off-MLS marketing. Buyer's agents have learned to ask.
If I don't offer buyer-agent compensation, will it hurt my sale?
It can. In price ranges where buyers are financing most of the purchase and have thin cash reserves, asking them to cover their agent out of pocket shrinks your pool. Higher up the price ladder the effect is smaller. Sellers who opt out entirely most often see it show up as fewer showings and more days on market rather than as no sale at all.
Where does buyer-agent compensation appear in my listing agreement?
Your listing agreement covers your listing broker's compensation. Any buyer-broker offer is a separate decision, documented in the listing agreement, an addendum, or your broker's cooperative arrangements. Under Tennessee Code Annotated §62-13-312(b)(9), the written agency agreement has to specify compensation terms, so read that section before you sign and ask exactly how any buy-side offer will reach the market.
As a buyer, if the seller doesn't pay my agent, how does my agent get paid?
Your buyer representation agreement sets the fee and how it's paid, and you sign it before touring homes. If the seller isn't covering it, you can pay directly, ask the seller to cover it as part of your offer, or request a credit that offsets it. Cash rebates after closing aren't permitted in Tennessee, so the structure matters. Confirm the details with your agent and lender, since how it's written affects what the lender will allow.
Let's run your actual numbers
You're not required to pay a buyer's agent. Whether you should, and how much, comes down to your house, your price point, and your neighborhood. That's a conversation, not a blog post. We've been having it with Middle Tennessee sellers since 2003.
Or call 615-751-8913. See how our 2% listing fee works, or start with a home value report.
Keep Reading
- The Real Cost of Selling a Home in Nashville: 2% Listings vs. Traditional Models
- Nashville Real Estate Commission Changes: What Buyers and Sellers Should Know in 2026
- Understanding the NAR Commissions Settlement
- Rate Buydown, Closing Cost Credit, or Price Reduction — Which Concession Should You Ask For?
- Half of Nashville Listings Don't Sell on the First Try
- Costs When Selling a Home in Nashville
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About James & Stephanie Crawford
James and Stephanie Crawford are Nashville natives and a boutique husband-and-wife team with more than 500 sales since 2003. James is boots on the ground as your REALTOR®. Stephanie, a broker, handles strategy, negotiation, and contracts. No hand-offs, no assistants — two experienced people who know this market and answer their own phones.
Nesting Realty | 615-751-8913 | nestinginnashville.com
Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Commission structures, closing costs, and transaction terms vary by situation. All broker compensation is negotiable and is not set by law. Confirm all figures and obligations with your attorney, tax advisor, lender, or closing officer before making decisions. James and Stephanie Crawford, Nesting Realty, Nashville, TN. TREC 263372.
