Commission · Massachusetts
Realtor commission in Massachusetts
You will find plenty of pages quoting an average Massachusetts commission to two decimal places. This is not one of them, and the reason is not coyness: since August 2024 there is no standard rate to quote, and citing a survey of what other people agreed to is a weaker starting point than understanding the structure you are negotiating inside.
Ask Devarshi about your situationWhy this page does not quote a rate.
Commission has always been negotiable in law. Since the 2024 settlement it is negotiable in practice too, because buyer-side compensation is no longer published in the MLS. Published averages describe past transactions; they are not a prevailing rate and they bind nobody.
Before 2024, a listing agreement set a total commission and the listing agent published an offer of cooperating compensation in the MLS for whichever agent brought a buyer. That published offer functioned as a de facto standard, even though nothing required it to.
The settlement removed those offers from the MLS. Buyer-side compensation is now agreed directly between a buyer and their agent in a written representation agreement, and any seller contribution is negotiated as a term of the offer.
So a survey figure tells you what a sample of people agreed to, in transactions with terms you cannot see, in a market that changed underneath the data. Treating it as a rate card gives away the negotiation before it starts — which is precisely what the settlement was meant to stop.
There are two negotiations, not one.
A seller negotiates their listing agent's compensation. Separately, they decide whether to offer a contribution toward the buyer's agent as an inducement. A buyer negotiates their own agent's compensation. These are three distinct conversations that used to look like one number.
The listing side. A seller agrees compensation with their listing agent in the listing agreement. This is negotiable and always has been, including the structure — percentage, flat fee, or tiered by sale price.
The seller's contribution. Separately, a seller decides whether to offer something toward buyer-side compensation. Many still do, because it widens the pool of buyers who can afford the home. It is an inducement, negotiated per offer, not a fixture.
The buyer side. A buyer agrees compensation with their own agent. If the seller's contribution covers it, the buyer may pay nothing directly. If it falls short, the buyer covers the difference in cash at closing.
Sellers who assume the old combined total still applies automatically, and buyers who assume someone else is paying, are both working from a model that no longer exists.
Commission is not the only thing coming out of a sale.
Massachusetts sellers also pay the deed excise, the smoke and carbon monoxide certificate and an attorney. The excise in particular is a statutory figure most net-sheet estimates get slightly wrong.
The deed excise — usually called tax stamps — is charged at $2 per $500 of the sale price or any fraction of it. That "or fraction" matters: it steps up at each $500 boundary rather than running as a flat percentage. On a $750,000 sale it comes to $3,420.00; add a single dollar to the price and it steps to $3,422.28.
Then the smoke and carbon monoxide certificate, a fire-department inspection the seller arranges for a small municipal fee, commonly $50 to $100. Then the attorney, commonly $750 to $1,250 for a straightforward transaction. Then the mortgage payoff, and any condominium 6D fee.
Which is why the useful question for a seller is not "what is your commission" but "what is my net". Town-by-town seller guides set out what comes off the top in each market.
Questions about commission in Massachusetts.
What is the standard realtor commission in Massachusetts?
There isn't one. Commission is negotiated on every transaction and has never been fixed by law or regulation; treating any published average as a standard rate is both inaccurate and, for agents who coordinate around it, an antitrust problem. Ask each agent what they charge and what it includes.
Is commission negotiable?
Yes, in structure as well as amount. Flat fees, tiered arrangements and percentage models all exist in Massachusetts. What you should be comparing is not only the number but what sits behind it — photography, staging advice, pricing analysis, and how the agent handles the stretch between accepted offer and closing.
Does the seller still pay the buyer's agent?
Often, but as a negotiated contribution rather than an automatic split. A buyer now agrees compensation with their own agent, and any seller contribution is a term of the offer. Where the contribution falls short of the buyer's agreement, the buyer covers the gap.
Do I pay less if one agent handles both sides?
Sometimes, and it is a fair thing to ask, since one agent handling both sides may mean one commission rather than two being split. But no rule requires a reduction, and dual agency costs you advocacy on price — which is worth weighing against any saving.
Are flat-fee and discount brokerages available in Massachusetts?
Yes, across a spectrum from a listing-only service to full representation at a reduced rate. The question to ask is precisely which services are included and which are not — pricing analysis, photography, showing coordination, negotiation, and coordination through to closing are separable, and a lower number sometimes reflects a narrower scope rather than a better deal.
When is commission paid?
At closing, out of the proceeds, and it appears on the settlement statement your attorney prepares. Nothing is owed if the property does not sell, under a conventional listing agreement — though you should read the agreement's termination and protection-period clauses rather than assume.
Is commission tax-deductible?
For a seller it is generally treated as a selling expense that reduces the gain on the sale rather than as a deduction against income, which is a materially different thing. This is a question for your accountant against your actual circumstances, not for a real estate website — and that is not a dodge, it is where the answer genuinely lives.
Sources
Every figure on this page is reproduced from the source listed against it, for orientation rather than as advice. Massachusetts fiscal years roll on 1 July and municipalities republish on their own schedules, so confirm anything you plan to rely on before you rely on it.
- National Association of Realtors settlement terms
- M.G.L. c. 64D §1
- Corroborated across Massachusetts brokerage sources
- Corroborated across multiple Massachusetts brokerages
Last verified .
Want a net figure rather than a percentage?
Send the property and a likely sale price. Devarshi will put together what comes off the top — excise, certificate, attorney, payoff — so you are comparing net rather than rate.