A lot of buyers who call me have heard that "the rules changed" for real estate agents, and most of them have heard a different version of what changed. Some think buyers now have to pay their agent out of pocket. Some think nothing changed at all. The truth sits in between, and it matters most at two moments: the first time you want to walk through a house, and the day you write an offer.
Here is what is actually different for someone buying in Las Vegas, Henderson or North Las Vegas today, and how I handle each piece with the people I work with.
Two rules that started on August 17, 2024
The changes came out of the settlement the National Association of REALTORS® reached in lawsuits over how agent commissions were set. According to NAR, two practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024, for agents who use a Multiple Listing Service.
The first: offers of compensation to a buyer's agent can no longer be published on the MLS. Before, a listing quietly told every agent in town what the seller would pay the buyer's side. That number is gone from the listing. A seller can still agree to pay it, but it now gets worked out off the MLS, usually as part of the offer.
The second: an agent working with a buyer has to have a written buyer agreement in place before the buyer tours a home. NAR's consumer guidance is clear that this covers live virtual tours as well as walking through in person.
Neither rule changes what a good buyer's agent does. They change the order things happen in, and they put the fee conversation at the start of the relationship instead of buried in the paperwork.
What the written agreement has to say
The agreement is not a formality you sign without reading. NAR lists what it has to contain. It must state the agent's compensation as a clear, objective figure, such as a flat fee or a percentage, rather than something open-ended. It must bar the agent from collecting more than that agreed amount from any source. And it must say, conspicuously, that fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law.
That last line is worth taking at face value. Commissions are negotiable. There is no standard rate that applies to everyone, and nothing in Nevada law sets one. If you want to talk through the number, the length of the agreement, or the area it covers, that conversation belongs before you sign, and I would rather have it openly.
What you do not need a signed agreement for: asking me questions, getting a feel for the market, or walking into a public open house on your own. NAR's guidance says no written agreement is needed to attend an open house or to ask an agent about their services. The agreement comes in when you want me to show you a home.
Nevada made it state law too
Nevada went a step further than the national settlement. Assembly Bill 258, passed in the 2025 legislative session, removed oral agreements from the state's definition of a brokerage agreement. For agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2025, a brokerage agreement in Nevada has to be a written contract, and it has to carry a fixed expiration date.
That covers both sides of a sale, buyers and sellers alike. So if you are relocating from a state where agents still work on a handshake, expect a written agreement here before I show you anything, whether in person or over a live video call. The expiration date is your protection: you are never tied to an agent with no end in sight.
If you are buying from out of state, this is easy to handle remotely. We can go over the agreement on a call, you sign it electronically, and then we can start touring by video the same day.
Who pays the buyer's agent now
This is the question everyone actually wants answered, and the honest answer is that it depends on the deal. On a resale home, who pays my fee is negotiated between the buyer and the seller as part of the offer. The seller does not automatically pay the buyer's agent anymore, and you will not see an offer of compensation on the MLS.
Here is how I handle it. In every negotiation, I ask the seller to cover my fee. Some sellers agree, because it widens the pool of buyers who can afford their home. If a seller will not, the fee falls to the buyer at close of escrow. Either way, you know the number before we write anything, because it is already in our written agreement.
The request for the seller to pay can sit in the offer alongside everything else you are asking for, like closing cost help or repairs. NAR notes that sellers can still offer buyer concessions, such as help with closing costs, and those can still appear on the MLS. When I weigh an offer strategy with a buyer, all of those pieces get looked at together, not one at a time.
If you want to see how a fee or a seller credit changes your cash to close or your payment, the mortgage calculator is a good place to run the numbers before we talk.
New construction works a little differently
With a brand-new home, the builder is the seller, and the builder pays my fee. That has been true in this valley for years, and it is part of why so many buyers here look at new construction alongside resale.
The one thing to get right: bring your agent on the first visit. Builders generally ask you to register your agent on your first visit to the sales office, and if you go alone and sign the guest card, some builders will not recognize an agent you bring in later. The written agreement still comes first, before that first visit.
If new construction is on your list, my sister sites go into the builders and communities area by area, starting with Henderson new homes.
What this means when you are ready to look
For most buyers, the practical change is small. You talk with an agent, you agree in writing on what they do and how they are paid, and then you start touring. What you get in return is a clear number on day one, instead of a figure you first see on a settlement statement.
A few questions are worth asking any agent you are thinking about working with. What exactly is your fee, and is it a flat amount or a percentage? How long does the agreement last, and does it cover the whole valley or one area? What happens if a seller offers to pay part of it? A straight answer to each of those, before you sign, tells you a lot about how the rest of the purchase will go.
Sellers feel it too. If you are selling, deciding whether to offer to cover the buyer's agent is now a choice you make with your listing agent, not a default line on the MLS. The seller net sheet shows how that choice changes what you walk away with.
If you are starting a search, you can browse everything for sale on home search without signing anything, and read how I work with buyers on the buying page. When you see a house you want to walk through, reach out and we will get the agreement handled first, so the tour can happen quickly.
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