Missouri guide

Structuring Missouri Buyer Agent Compensation Conversations Post-2024

If you want a Missouri agent to show you homes, you now sign a Buyer Representation Agreement (BRA) before touring that spells out exactly what you would pay your agent.

Reading as buyer.

TL;DR

If you want a Missouri agent to show you homes, you now sign a Buyer Representation Agreement (BRA) before touring that spells out exactly what you would pay your agent. Many Missouri sellers still cover the buyer-agent fee through a concession at closing, but it is no longer guaranteed or advertised on the . Treat the BRA as hiring a pro for a defined job, and negotiate the rate and the termination terms before you sign.

Before you start — 7 things to know

  • As of August 2024, a Missouri buyer must sign a written Buyer Representation Agreement (BRA) with an agent before that agent can show them a home listed on the .

  • The BRA must state a specific buyer-agent fee — a flat dollar amount or a percentage — and that number cannot be a vague range like '2 to 3 percent.'

  • The fee written into the BRA is what the buyer is on the hook for; whether the seller ends up covering it through a concession is a separate negotiation that happens with each offer.

  • In typical Missouri price ranges of $250,000 to $500,000, sellers still commonly offer concessions that cover roughly 2.5 to 3 percent for the buyer agent, but this is no longer advertised on the and has to be asked for in the offer.

  • A buyer can ask for a short-term or property-specific BRA — for example, one tour or one house — instead of a long exclusive agreement, so signing the BRA does not have to mean committing to that agent forever.

  • If the seller's concession covers less than the rate in the BRA, the buyer is responsible for the difference at closing, usually in cash, because lenders cap how much seller-paid closing help they will accept.

  • The rule requiring the signed BRA before showings comes from the settlement of the Sitzer-Burnett case, which was filed in Missouri federal court, and from MARIS MLS rules that apply to Missouri REALTORS members.

The timeline — step by step

  1. Before the first showing: review the BRA, including the fee, the term length, and the termination rules, and ask the agent to walk you through each line.

  2. At BRA signing: agree on a specific dollar amount or percentage for the buyer-agent fee and confirm in writing that the seller may or may not cover it.

  3. During home search: for each home toured, ask the agent to confirm whether the listing side has signaled willingness to offer a buyer-agent concession, since this is no longer published on the .

  4. When writing an offer: include a request for the seller to pay the buyer-agent fee as a closing concession up to the amount in the BRA.

  5. During offer negotiation: if the seller refuses or counters with a smaller concession, decide whether to cover the gap in cash, ask the agent to reduce their fee, or walk away.

  6. At closing: the buyer-agent fee is paid out of the seller's proceeds if the concession was accepted, or directly by the buyer if it was not, and the exact split appears on the closing disclosure.

Common questions

Do I have to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement before a Missouri agent will show me a house?
Yes — under the 2024 settlement and MARIS rules, a Missouri agent who is a REALTORS member cannot show a buyer an MLS-listed home without a signed written BRA in place first.
Is the buyer-agent commission still always paid by the seller in Missouri?
No — the seller may still offer to cover it through a closing concession, and many do in the $250,000 to $500,000 range, but it is no longer advertised on the and has to be negotiated on each deal.
What happens if the seller will not cover the full buyer-agent fee written in my BRA?
The buyer is responsible for the difference, usually paid in cash at closing, unless the buyer renegotiates the rate with their agent or the seller agrees to a larger concession.
Can I sign a BRA for just one showing or one property?
Yes — Missouri buyers can request a short-term or single-property BRA so that signing the agreement does not lock them into using that agent for an entire home search.
Why did this change happen in August 2024?
It came out of the settlement of the Sitzer-Burnett class action, which was filed in Missouri federal court, and it forced MLS systems including MARIS to stop publishing buyer-agent compensation and to require written buyer agreements before showings.
Can the buyer-agent fee in the BRA be negotiated down later?
Yes — the BRA sets the maximum the agent is owed, and many Missouri agents will agree to reduce that fee in writing if the seller concession falls short, but they are not legally required to.

Glossary

2 terms
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.
MLS — Multiple Listing Service
The shared database agents use to list and find homes for sale. Most homes you'll see online started here.

Sources

  1. [1]
  2. [2]

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