All real estate compensation is negotiable. There is no fixed or legally set rate, and there never really was. It works in two separate tracks. The listing agent negotiates their fee with the seller as part of the listing agreement. The buyer separately negotiates compensation with their own agent, and under the current rules that agreement has to be in place before you start touring homes together. So you agree up front what your agent's representation is worth to you. Who actually pays the buyer's-agent compensation is its own negotiation. It can be paid by you directly through escrow, by the seller, or split between the two, depending on what gets agreed in the deal. We won't tell you the seller or a builder simply covers it, because nobody can promise that, and the whole point of the rule change is that the number and who pays it are now on the table rather than assumed. Practically, that means having a direct conversation with any agent about how they charge and what you get for it, the same way you would with any professional you hire. Ask what the fee is, what it covers, and how it would be paid in your specific transaction. The answer should be clear, written down, and settled before you're out looking at houses.