Delaware guide
Antitrust Risk and Compensation Disclosure in Delaware Real Estate
In Delaware, commission rates are not set by any industry rule — every brokerage decides its own rate, and you can negotiate.
Reading as buyer.
TL;DR
In Delaware, commission rates are not set by any industry rule — every brokerage decides its own rate, and you can negotiate. If an agent tells you "this is the standard rate," that's a red flag, because federal antitrust law (the Sherman Act) makes price-fixing between brokerages illegal. Delaware law also requires your agent to disclose how and from whom they're being paid in your deal.
Before you start — 7 things to know
There is no "standard" commission rate in Delaware — every brokerage sets its own rate independently, and you are allowed to negotiate what your buyer agent earns.
Federal antitrust law (the Sherman Act) makes it illegal for brokerages to agree with each other on minimum commission rates, so any agent who hints "all agents charge the same" is either mistaken or out of bounds.
Under 24 Del. C. §2912, your Delaware agent must tell you the source and nature of their compensation in your transaction — including if they're getting paid from more than one side of the deal.
If your buyer agent is collecting both a seller-side concession and a fee from you, Delaware law requires they disclose both — undisclosed double-dipping is an independent violation.
Since the August 17, 2024 settlement, buyer agent compensation is no longer published on the MLS, so you negotiate your buyer agent's fee directly in a written buyer representation agreement.
A safe question to ask a Delaware buyer agent is "How is your fee being paid in this deal, and from which sources?" — they're legally required to give you a straight answer.
If an agent quotes you a rate and says "that's what the market charges," ask them to confirm in writing that the rate is negotiable — under federal antitrust rules, it has to be.
The timeline — step by step
Before signing a buyer representation agreement in Delaware, ask the agent what their commission rate is and confirm in writing that it was set independently by their brokerage and is negotiable.
When you sign the buyer representation agreement, the document should clearly state the buyer agent's fee — that fee is what you're agreeing to pay (minus any seller-paid concession applied to it).
During offer drafting, decide with your agent whether to ask the seller to cover some or all of the buyer agent fee as a seller concession in the purchase contract.
Before closing in Delaware, your agent must give you a written compensation disclosure under 24 Del. C. §2912 showing exactly who is paying them and how much from each source.
At closing, review the closing disclosure line items and confirm the buyer agent compensation matches what's in your buyer representation agreement and the §2912 disclosure.
Common questions
Is there a standard buyer agent commission rate in Delaware?
Can I negotiate what my buyer agent gets paid?
Does my Delaware agent have to tell me how they're being paid?
What should I do if an agent tells me "all agents charge 3%"?
Can my buyer agent get paid by both me and the seller?
Glossary
1 term
- NAR — National Association of Realtors
- The national trade group for real-estate agents. The 2024 NAR settlement is the legal deal that changed how buyer's agents get paid.
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