Yes, probably — you likely don't have a choice if you want a real estate agent to show you homes. But "sign it" and "sign whatever's put in front of you without reading it" are two very different moves, and this article is about the second part.

Since August 17, 2024, the National Association of Realtors' industry-wide settlement has required a written buyer broker agreement before an agent can tour homes with you — in person or over live video — if that home is listed on an MLS. (We cover how the whole commission-and-compensation system changed industry-wide in a companion piece — this one is just about the piece of paper someone's about to hand you.) So if an agent asks you to sign something before your first showing, that's not a sales tactic, that's the agent following the rules. Casual chats at an open house or a "let's grab coffee and talk about what you're looking for" don't require one. Actually touring a specific home does.

That said, "required" doesn't mean "take it or leave it as written." The agreement itself is negotiable, and a decent agent will walk you through it instead of sliding it across the table and waiting.

What the agreement actually has to say

Per the settlement terms, every buyer broker agreement has to spell out, in specific terms:

  • How much the agent gets paid — a flat fee, a percentage, or an hourly rate. Vague language ("standard commission," "market rate," "we'll figure it out") isn't allowed. If you see it, push back.
  • A statement that the fee is negotiable — because it is. Nothing in federal or state law sets a standard commission percentage, no matter what anyone tells you.

That's the federal-level floor. States are layering their own rules on top — California's AB 2992, for instance (effective January 1, 2025), caps the agreement at three months and requires it be signed no later than when you submit an offer. Your state's rules may differ — check with your state's real estate commission for the specifics; this is genuinely one of those "confirm locally" situations rather than a national standard, so treat any specific state cap you read online, including the California one above, as an example rather than your state's rule.

Four things to actually read before you sign

1. The compensation terms

Whatever number you agree to becomes the ceiling on what your agent can collect for that deal — from you, from the seller as a concession, from anywhere. So it's worth understanding not just the rate, but where the money is actually supposed to come from:

  • Is the plan for the seller to cover it via concession (common, but not guaranteed — sellers aren't required to offer buyer-agent compensation anymore)?
  • If the seller doesn't offer enough to cover the agreed fee, are you on the hook for the difference out of pocket?
  • Is it a flat fee regardless of home price, or a percentage that scales with whatever you end up buying?

Asking "what happens if the seller doesn't cover this" is not an awkward question. It's the whole point of the disclosure requirement.

2. How long you're locked in

Buyer broker agreements commonly run somewhere in the three-to-six-month range, sometimes up to a year, and the length is negotiable — you don't have to accept whatever's pre-printed on the form. If you're just starting to look and have no real timeline, a shorter initial term (with the option to renew if it's working out) is a reasonable ask. Also check: does it auto-renew, or does it just expire on its own? Silent auto-renewal clauses are the kind of thing that's easy to miss on page three.

3. What the agreement actually covers

This is the one people get burned by. Some agreements are scoped to specific properties you've already discussed touring; others are broader and cover any home you buy during the term, including one you find yourself scrolling Zillow at midnight with zero agent involvement. If you sign a broad exclusive agreement and then buy a house you found on your own — no showing, no agent — you may still owe that agent a fee under the contract. Ask directly: does this cover every home I might buy in the next few months, or just the ones we tour together? Get the answer in writing, not verbally.

4. How you get out if it's not working

You don't need the full "how to fire your agent" playbook here — that's its own topic if you're already past this point and stuck with someone you don't want. But before you sign, it's worth knowing the exit path exists at all: look for a termination or cancellation clause that lets either side walk away with reasonable notice (some agreements specify something like 3 to 14 days) rather than locking you in with no way out short of the term expiring. If the draft in front of you has no exit clause at all, that's worth asking about before you sign, not after three months of a relationship that isn't clicking.

It's fine to negotiate. It's fine to ask questions.

None of this is rude. A buyer broker agreement is a contract, and contracts get negotiated — that's not you being difficult, that's you doing the bare minimum due diligence on what might be the largest financial transaction of your adult life so far. A good agent expects questions about compensation, term length, and exit terms, and will answer them without getting cagey or making you feel like you're insulting them by asking. If an agent gets visibly annoyed that you want to read the document before signing it, that reaction is itself useful information about how the rest of the relationship might go.

If you're weighing whether to go exclusive with one agent versus keeping your options open early in the search, that's a legitimate thing to raise directly with them — "I want to work with you, but I'd like to start with a shorter term while we figure out if this is a good fit" is a completely normal sentence to say out loud to a professional.

Bottom line

You'll almost certainly need to sign a buyer broker agreement before an agent tours a home with you — that's the rule now, not optional, and not a red flag by itself. What matters is whether the specific agreement in front of you has clear, specific compensation terms, a term length you're comfortable with, a scope you understand, and a way out if things don't work. Read it, ask about anything vague, and negotiate the parts that don't fit your situation before you sign — not after.

Sources

Note: Specific duration caps and signing-deadline rules (like California's three-month cap) vary by state and are cited here as illustrative examples, not universal rules — confirm your own state's requirements before relying on any specific number in this piece.