{"id":61588,"date":"2025-08-20T08:41:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T15:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=61588"},"modified":"2026-03-30T14:26:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T21:26:06","slug":"who-pays-realtor-fees-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/who-pays-realtor-fees-in-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Pays Realtor Fees in California?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re preparing to sell a home in California<\/a>, you may have heard that there are new rules governing real estate agent commissions. The big questions on your mind are likely: who pays Realtor fees in California, and will the new guidelines impact my sale proceeds?<\/p>\n

The rule changes are tied to last year\u2019s National Association of Realtors (NAR) court settlement<\/a>, which gave sellers more flexibility in how commissions are handled.<\/p>\n

In this post, we\u2019ll break down how Realtor fees typically work in California, and how much you can expect to pay. You\u2019ll also be able to use our California Real Estate Commission Calculator to run estimates based on your own sale price and circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Who pays Realtor fees in California?<\/h2>\n

Traditionally, home sellers covered both their own listing agent\u2019s fee and the buyer\u2019s agent\u2019s commission. Under the new rules, sellers are no longer automatically obligated to compensate the buyer\u2019s agent. However, despite the NAR changes, most California home sellers still pay both agents.<\/p>\n

In a recent HomeLight survey, 92% of top agents nationwide<\/a> reported that sellers are continuing to cover buyer\u2019s agent commissions. Conversations with California agents echo this finding \u2014 particularly in high-cost metros like Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, where buyers are already stretching to cover steep down payments and closing costs.<\/p>\n

For example, in Los Angeles County, where the median home price is around $1,000,000<\/a>, buyers typically put 10% to 15% down<\/a>, which means coming up with as much as $150,000 cash upfront.<\/p>\n

With that level of financial strain, many buyers would struggle to pay their own agent directly. So while sellers in California are not required to pay these fees, most do so because it:<\/p>\n