Do You Still Need a Buyer's Agent After the NAR Settlement? | BuyUnrepped

The NAR settlement was supposed to change everything about how Americans buy homes. Commissions would plummet. Agents would disappear. Buyers would save thousands.

A year and a half later? Eighty-eight percent of buyers are still using agents, and commissions are back to pre-settlement levels.¹ So what actually changed, and does it matter for your decision about whether to hire a buyer's agent in Tennessee?

The honest answer: the settlement changed the rules, not the risks. You now have more power to negotiate what you pay for representation. But the complexity of buying a home hasn't decreased one bit.

What the NAR Settlement Actually Changed

If you need the full breakdown, we covered it in detail in our post on what the NAR settlement means for home buyers. We also have a quick-reference list of the key changes for buyers. Here's the short version.

Three rule changes took effect on August 17, 2024:²

Written buyer agreements are required before touring homes. Your agent must present an agreement that spells out their exact compensation, a specific dollar amount or percentage, before showing you a single property.
Buyer agent commissions are no longer listed on the MLS. Sellers can still offer to pay a buyer's agent, but they can't advertise the offer on the Multiple Listing Service.
Sellers no longer automatically pay the buyer's agent. Compensation is negotiated separately between the buyer and their agent.

What did NOT change: commissions are still fully negotiable (they always were), sellers can still offer to pay your agent's fee off-MLS, and you can still hire any agent you want.²

What This Means in Tennessee

Here's what most Tennessee buyers don't realize: your state was already doing this. Tennessee brokers have required written buyer representation agreements as standard practice for years. Greater Nashville REALTORS called the national mandate "business as usual" for Tennessee agents.³

Tennessee REALTORS offers both Exclusive (RF142) and Non-Exclusive (RF144) buyer representation agreement forms. The paperwork side isn't new here. The real shift is financial, who pays your agent, and how much.

The Numbers: What's Happened to Commissions Since the Settlement

If the settlement was supposed to drive down buyer-agent fees, it hasn't worked, at least not yet.

Metric	Pre-Settlement (Q1 2024)	Post-Settlement Low (Q3 2024)	Current (Q2 2025)
Avg. buyer's agent commission (national)	2.43%	2.36%	2.43%
Tennessee buyer's agent commission	2.67–2.92%	N/A	2.67–2.92%
Combined buyer + seller commission (national)	5.32%	N/A	5.44%

Buyer-agent commissions dipped slightly right after the settlement, then rebounded to pre-settlement levels within three quarters.⁴ A Federal Reserve study examining nearly 30 years of commission data found that buyer agreement requirements had "no significant effect" on commission rates across 15 states.⁵ Commission rates actually increased in 39 states from 2024 to 2025.⁶

What does that mean in real dollars? At Tennessee's average rate of 2.7%, on a Nashville median-priced home (~$476K), you're looking at approximately $12,852 for a buyer's agent.⁷

That's a significant amount of money. The question is whether it's money well spent.

Are Buyers Actually Going Unrepresented?

Not really, at least not in large numbers.

A Rice University study published in October 2025 found only a 1.7% increase in unrepresented buyers nationally since the settlement took effect. In states that didn't already require buyer contracts, the figure was 1.9%. Over 90% of buyers still use an agent.⁸

The NAR's own 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (covering July 2024–June 2025) confirmed that 88% of buyers purchased through an agent or broker. Among first-time buyers, 76% said their agent helped them understand the buying process.¹

Perhaps most telling: there was virtually no shift toward discount or alternative brokerage models. Fintech and flat-fee brokerage adoption was "practically flat."⁸ Meanwhile, experienced agents with 5+ years gained 2.1% market share with sellers and 1.2% with buyers, suggesting the new transparency requirements are benefiting established professionals, not disrupting them.⁸

The settlement gave buyers more information. Most are still choosing to hire an agent anyway. If you're weighing this decision yourself, our post on when you don't need a buyer's agent breaks down the scenarios honestly.

What a Buyer's Agent Actually Does for You

Before you decide whether to hire one, it helps to understand what you'd be paying for, and what you'd be giving up.

A buyer's agent provides:

Market analysis and pricing guidance. Access to comparable sales data, neighborhood trends, and pricing history. Without this, you're guessing whether a home is priced fairly.
Property evaluation. More than half of buyers in the NAR survey said they valued their agent pointing out features or flaws they hadn't noticed on their own.¹
Negotiation strategy. Offer price, repair credits, contingency terms, closing date, an experienced agent has done this hundreds of times.
Contract management. Tennessee purchase agreements, disclosure review, contingency deadlines, and the legal language that protects you if something goes wrong.
Coordination. Scheduling inspections, managing lender requirements, coordinating with the title company, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks before closing.

One critical detail: the listing agent works for the seller, not for you. They have a fiduciary duty to get the best deal for their client. If you show up unrepresented, the seller's agent may be friendly, but they are not on your side.

The Real Risks of Going Unrepresented

Going without a buyer's agent can save you money. It can also cost you far more than you saved. Here are the real risks:

Overpaying. Without access to comps and market data, unrepresented buyers risk paying above fair market value. You won't know the house down the street sold for $20K less six months ago unless you've done the research.⁹
Weak contracts. Missing or poorly written contingencies, inspection, financing, appraisal, can leave you with no way out of a bad deal. A missing inspection contingency could mean you're on the hook for a $30,000 foundation repair you didn't know about.¹⁰
Missed deadlines. Every real estate contract has deadlines attached to earnest money. Miss a contingency deadline and you could lose your deposit, typically 1–3% of the purchase price.⁹
Dual agency traps. Some listing agents will offer to represent both sides. This creates an inherent conflict of interest. The Consumer Federation of America specifically warns buyers to avoid blanket dual agency agreements.¹⁰
The knowledge gap. FSBO homes sell for roughly 15% less than agent-represented homes. While that's a seller-side statistic, it illustrates what happens when either party lacks professional representation in a complex transaction.⁹

The math matters here. Overpaying by even 2–3% on a $476K Nashville home costs $9,500–$14,280, more than most agent fees.

Your Options: From Full-Service Agent to Fully Solo

The settlement didn't create a binary choice between "hire a traditional agent" and "go it alone." You have a spectrum of options:

Traditional buyer's agent (2.5–3% commission) Full service: home search, showings, negotiations, contract management, closing coordination. Highest cost, most comprehensive.

Negotiated-fee agent (1.5–2%) Same services, lower rate. The Consumer Federation of America recommends targeting 2% or less and negotiating in specific dollar amounts rather than percentages.¹⁰

Flat-fee or hourly agent ($2,000–$5,000) You handle the home search yourself. The agent writes your offer, negotiates terms, and manages the contract for a set fee.

Real estate attorney only ($750–$1,250 flat for closing) Handles contract review and closing documents. Tennessee doesn't require an attorney at closing, but hiring one gives you legal protection at a fraction of agent commissions.¹¹ The trade-off: no help finding homes, scheduling showings, or building negotiation strategy.

Fully unrepresented You do everything yourself, home search, offer writing, negotiation, inspections, closing. Maximum savings, maximum risk.

Tip: Tennessee's Non-Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement (RF144) lets you work with an agent without a long-term commitment. Start there to evaluate an agent before locking into an exclusive agreement. If you're buying at Franklin and Brentwood price points ($700K+), the commission savings from going unrepresented easily top $17,000.

7 Tips for Tennessee Buyers Navigating the New Rules

1. Don't sign an exclusive agreement right away. Use a non-exclusive or short-term touring agreement to evaluate an agent first. Tennessee's RF144 form makes this straightforward.³

2. Negotiate fees in dollar amounts, not percentages. The difference between 2% and 2.7% on a $476K Nashville home is $3,332. Ask for a flat fee or a lower rate, and get it in writing.¹⁰

3. Ask sellers to cover your agent's commission. It's no longer on the MLS, but many Tennessee sellers still offer buyer-agent compensation as a concession. Your agent can inquire with the listing agent directly.⁷ If you're going unrepresented, our guide on negotiating directly with the seller's agent explains how to handle this conversation yourself.

4. Vet your agent before committing. Check their license through the Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC). Review recent sales. Read online reviews. Ask how many transactions they've closed in the past 12 months.¹

5. Watch for red flags in buyer agreements. Avoid contracts with blanket dual agency clauses, binding arbitration requirements, or terms that allow agents to collect more than the negotiated fee.¹⁰

6. If going solo, hire a real estate attorney. At $150–$350/hour, it's a fraction of a full commission and covers your legal bases. Pair it with a platform like BuyUnrepped for contracts and closing support.¹¹ Our complete guide to buying without a buyer's agent walks through every step of the process.

7. Factor in the true cost of mistakes. Overpaying by 2–3% on a $476K home costs $9,500–$14,280. A missed inspection contingency could cost tens of thousands more. The cheapest option isn't always the cheapest outcome.⁹ Use our closing cost calculator to get a precise picture of your cash-to-close before making an offer.

How BuyUnrepped Helps

The NAR settlement gave you more power to choose how, and how much, you pay for help buying a home. BuyUnrepped is built for Tennessee buyers who want professional support without the traditional 2.5–3% commission.

Whether you're going fully solo or somewhere in between, we provide:

State-approved Tennessee purchase agreement templates so your contracts protect you
Comparable sales data so you don't overpay
A closing cost calculator, mortgage payment estimator, and home affordability calculator to budget accurately for your specific purchase
Step-by-step guidance through the entire buying process, including our Tennessee NAR settlement guide
Expert support when you need it, without the percentage-based price tag

The settlement gave you the right to negotiate. BuyUnrepped gives you a better option to negotiate toward.

See how much you could save → or explore our pricing to get started. Have questions? Reach out to our team.

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