Loan officers with any kind of following have talked about little else, and the honest answer is the full impact is still unfolding. Anyone claiming certainty is guessing. What's settled: buyers now sign a buyer-broker agreement stating their agent's expected compensation before touring homes, so that number is disclosed and negotiated up front. What stays fluid is how sellers respond. At higher price points, sellers may still cover the buyer's agent as part of the deal. At lower price points, a buyer often can't absorb an extra couple of percent out of pocket, so it becomes a real negotiating point in the offer. On the financing side: - FHA: per FHA's published FAQs (FHA INFO 2024-12, March 2024), a seller or listing agent paying the buyer's agent commission is not treated as an interested-party contribution against FHA's cap, as long as the payment is customary in the local market and reasonable in amount. - VA: VA long treated the buyer's agent commission as a fee the veteran couldn't pay. VA Circular 26-24-14 (effective August 10, 2024) changed that, permitting veteran buyers to pay reasonable, customary buyer-broker charges under a written buyer-broker agreement. Those charges can't be financed into the loan. The durable takeaways: agent compensation is now openly negotiable and set in writing, who pays it is part of the deal you strike, and if you're financing, confirm how your specific loan type treats a seller-paid or buyer-paid commission before you write the offer.