As a Knoxville seller in 2026, do I still have to pay the buyer’s agent commission? No — you are not required to. Since the August 2024 rule change, a buyer’s agent commission is negotiated deal-by-deal in the purchase contract, and most Knoxville sellers still choose to offer one to keep their buyer pool wide.
If you sold a house in Knoxville before 2024, the buyer’s agent commission was baked into the deal almost automatically. You listed, a compensation number was published in the MLS, and the buyer’s agent got paid from your proceeds without much conversation. That is not how it works anymore, and the question of who pays the buyer’s agent commission in Tennessee in 2026 now comes up in nearly every listing appointment I sit down for.
The short version: the rules changed, not the math of your bottom line. You have more choices than you used to, and those choices have real consequences for how many buyers see your home and how strong your offers come in. Let’s walk through exactly what changed, what you control, and how I’d think about it if this were your home in Farragut, West Knoxville, or anywhere across the East Tennessee metro.
What actually changed in 2024
A national legal settlement involving the National Association of Realtors took effect in August 2024 and reshaped how buyer-agent compensation is handled. Two changes matter most for you as a Knoxville seller.
First, a buyer’s agent commission can no longer be advertised in the MLS. Here in East Tennessee, that means the compensation field that used to sit on every listing in our RealTracs system is gone. Buyers and their agents can no longer shop by “how much is the seller offering.”
Second, buyers now sign a written buyer-representation agreement with their agent before they tour a home. That agreement spells out what the buyer’s agent will be paid. So by the time a buyer walks through your front door, they already have a number in mind that someone has to cover — them, or you through a concession. You can read the buyer’s side of that change in this plain-English summary of the August 2024 settlement.
So who pays the buyer’s agent commission now?
Here is the part that trips people up. You are not required to pay the buyer’s agent anything. But “not required” is very different from “shouldn’t.” In practice, most Tennessee sellers still offer to cover some or all of the buyer’s agent commission, because it keeps the largest possible pool of buyers able to afford your home.
Think about it from the buyer’s chair. A buyer who has to pay their own agent out of pocket has less cash for the down payment and closing costs. If your home asks them to bring that money and the comparable listing down the street offers to cover it, guess which one gets the stronger offer. Offering a buyer-agent concession is now a marketing decision, not an obligation — and it’s one worth making on purpose.
Your options generally look like this:
- Offer a buyer-agent concession up front. You signal in your listing marketing that you’re willing to contribute toward the buyer’s agent fee. This casts the widest net.
- Stay silent and negotiate at offer time. You don’t advertise anything and let each buyer bring the request in their offer. This gives you room to negotiate but can narrow who writes.
- Decline to contribute. Legal, but in most Knoxville price ranges it shrinks your buyer pool. There are situations where it makes sense — I’ll tell you honestly if yours is one of them.
Where the commission gets written down
Because it can’t live in the MLS anymore, buyer-agent compensation is now spelled out in the purchase contract itself. In Tennessee, that’s handled through the special stipulations of the contract or a separate compensation addendum on the standard Tennessee Realtors forms. Nothing is assumed — if it isn’t written, it isn’t owed.
Your listing commission is a completely separate conversation. That’s the agreement between you and me for marketing and selling your home, and it has always been negotiated directly in your listing agreement. The 2024 changes did not touch it. When we talk numbers, I keep the two clearly apart so you always know what you’re paying for.
What will it actually cost you?
Commissions in Tennessee are negotiable and always have been — there is no set rate, and any agent who tells you otherwise is wrong. What you pay isn’t a fixed percentage off a chart — it’s a conversation between you and your agent about the marketing, pricing strategy, and service behind your sale. I’m always glad to walk through exactly what my commission covers and how it’s structured before you sign anything.
What matters is your number, on your home, in your ZIP code. That’s why I build every seller a personalized net sheet before we list — it shows exactly what a buyer-agent concession does, or doesn’t do, to the check you walk away with at closing.
A note on how a concession is structured
How a seller-paid buyer-broker contribution interacts with a buyer’s loan program and the caps on interested-party contributions can vary by loan type and by how the concession is written. Those details change the paperwork, and occasionally the number. I coordinate that with your lender and closing attorney on every deal so the concession is structured cleanly and nothing surprises you at the table. It’s exactly the kind of thing that’s easy to get wrong on your own and easy to get right with the right people in the room.
Frequently asked questions
Am I legally required to pay the buyer’s agent when I sell in Tennessee?
No. Since the August 2024 rule change, sellers in Tennessee are not required to pay or offer a buyer’s agent commission. Most Knoxville sellers still choose to offer one because it keeps the buyer pool wide, but it is fully negotiable and decided deal-by-deal.
Can the buyer’s agent commission still be listed in the MLS?
No. As of August 2024, buyer-agent compensation can no longer be advertised in MLS fields, including our RealTracs system in East Tennessee. Any commission you agree to offer a buyer’s agent is now written into the purchase contract or a compensation addendum instead.
Is the listing commission the same as the buyer’s agent commission?
No, they are separate. The listing commission is what you agree to pay your own agent for marketing and selling your home, set in your listing agreement. The buyer’s agent commission is a separate, negotiable amount you may or may not choose to contribute toward the buyer’s representation.
Let’s run your actual numbers
This is the live conversation in every Knoxville listing appointment right now, and it’s worth getting right — the difference between offering a buyer-agent concession and not can move both how fast your home sells and what you net. Before you decide anything, let me show you exactly what each choice does to your bottom line on a personalized net sheet built for your home.
Call or text Hilmar Castillo, Realtor®/Broker at Castillo Realty, at (865) 437-9539 or visit castillorealtytn.com to get started. I serve sellers, buyers, and relocation clients across the Knoxville metro — in English and in Spanish.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Commission structures and loan-program rules vary by situation — confirm the specifics with your lender and closing attorney.
Talk soon,
Hilmar