{"id":42081,"date":"2025-08-29T04:19:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T11:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=42081"},"modified":"2025-09-02T19:43:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T02:43:21","slug":"buyer-home-buyer-rebate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebates have been used to attract consumers or undercut competition since the 1800s<\/a>. Today, it\u2019s common to see rebate offers on everything from cars to your vacuum-insulated stainless steel tumbler on Amazon. What\u2019s not as common but just as real is a home buyer rebate.<\/p>\n

A home buyer rebate can put some money in your pocket when you might need it most, when closing on a home purchase.<\/p>\n

In this post, we’ll explore what a home buyer rebate is, how it works, and how you might make it part of your home shopping plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Achieve Greater Buyer Confidence With a Top Agent<\/h3>\n

HomeLight can connect you with the most experienced buyer\u2019s agents in your home shopping area. These top professionals can help you make the best buying decisions and protect your interests.<\/p>\n \n

\n Get Started<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n

What is a home buyer rebate?<\/h2>\n

A home buyer rebate, often referred to as a commission rebate, is a portion of the real estate agent’s commission<\/a> that’s returned to the buyer at closing. This financial incentive is a way for agents to attract clients in competitive markets by offering a share of their commission as a rebate. While not all agents offer rebates, those who do view it as a compelling way to stand out and provide added value to their clients.<\/p>\n

There are some real estate broker companies that have built their entire business model on offering commission rebates.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

How do home buyer rebates work?<\/h2>\n

The process for receiving a home buyer rebate begins when you engage a real estate agent who offers this incentive. Typically, the agent agrees to rebate a portion of the commission they earn from the sale of the home back to you, the buyer.<\/p>\n

The exact amount of the rebate can vary and is usually negotiated between the buyer and the agent at the start of their working relationship. In most cases, the agent or broker offers the rebate as a closing credit<\/a>, meaning that it will reduce the total amount of money you need to complete your home purchase. However, closing credits are subject to a number of terms and restrictions<\/a> and are subject to lender approval.<\/p>\n

They are also not widely available. Unless buyer rebates are built into their business model, many real estate agents and brokers will balk at the idea. In addition, home buyer rebates are not legal in all states (more on this in a minute).<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Example home buyer rebate scenarios<\/h2>\n

Below are two examples of how a home buyer rebate might play out. For both examples, we\u2019ll base the rebate on the purchase of a $400,000 home.<\/p>\n

1. Percentage of the agent’s commission<\/h3>\n

Since August 2024, when key commission changes were implemented<\/a>, the decoupling of agent commissions has meant buyers are on the hook for the buyer\u2019s agent commission unless the seller offers or agrees<\/a> to foot the bill.<\/p>\n

In this scenario, the rebate is calculated as a percentage of the agent’s received commission. Since real estate commissions are typically a percentage of the sale price (often around 2.5% to 3% each<\/a> for the buyer’s and seller’s agents), your rebate could be a portion of your agent’s share. For instance, if the agent agrees to rebate 20% of their 3% commission on a $400,000 sale, you would receive $2,400.<\/p>\n

2. Percentage of the purchase price<\/h3>\n

Alternatively, some rebates are based on a percentage of the home’s purchase price. For example, if your agent offers a 1% rebate on a home purchased for $400,000, you would receive a $4,000 rebate. This method is straightforward and allows buyers to easily estimate their potential savings. Below is an infographic to illustrate this second example.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn how a home buyer rebate can save you money on your next purchase. Explore the legalities, how to qualify, and tips to request a rebate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":42085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,646,342],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-making-offers","category-negotiations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how a home buyer rebate can save you money on your next purchase. Explore the legalities, how to qualify, and tips to request a rebate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how a home buyer rebate can save you money on your next purchase. Explore the legalities, how to qualify, and tips to request a rebate.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-29T11:19:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-03T02:43:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Untitled-design-72.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Haddad\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Haddad\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)","description":"Learn how a home buyer rebate can save you money on your next purchase. Explore the legalities, how to qualify, and tips to request a rebate.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)","og_description":"Learn how a home buyer rebate can save you money on your next purchase. Explore the legalities, how to qualify, and tips to request a rebate.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2025-08-29T11:19:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-03T02:43:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Untitled-design-72.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Richard Haddad","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gohomelight","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard Haddad","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard Haddad","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7103b037dcb5e844946ec92b02a128"},"headline":"What Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)","datePublished":"2025-08-29T11:19:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T02:43:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/"},"wordCount":606,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Untitled-design-72.png","articleSection":["Buyers","Making the Offer","Offers & Negotiations"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/","name":"What Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Untitled-design-72.png","datePublished":"2025-08-29T11:19:05+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-03T02:43:21+00:00","description":"Learn how a home buyer rebate can save you money on your next purchase. Explore the legalities, how to qualify, and tips to request a rebate.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Untitled-design-72.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Untitled-design-72.png","width":1000,"height":563,"caption":"Source: (Jarek Ceborski \/ Unsplash)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-home-buyer-rebate\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is a Home Buyer Rebate? (Commission Rebate)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America's Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7103b037dcb5e844946ec92b02a128","name":"Richard Haddad","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbb89d16f303ea1de47fd69852400830b4a663ea6dbb4eecafbea5c1403da721?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fbb89d16f303ea1de47fd69852400830b4a663ea6dbb4eecafbea5c1403da721?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Richard Haddad"},"description":"Richard Haddad is the executive editor of HomeLight.com. He works with an experienced content team that oversees the company\u2019s blog featuring in-depth articles about the home buying and selling process, homeownership news, home care and design tips, and related real estate trends. Previously, he served as an editor and content producer for World Company, Gannett, and Western News & Info, where he also served as news director and director of internet operations.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/richard-w-haddad"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/richardhaddad\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}