How Much Commission Do You Pay to Sell Your House on Long Island? The Honest Answer in 2026

ByPawli Paola Meyer

One of the first questions I get when a seller calls me — before we’ve talked about price, before we’ve talked about timing, before we’ve even looked at the property together — is some version of: “What’s this going to cost me?” And underneath that question is usually a more specific one: how much of my sale proceeds am I handing to agents when this is done?

It’s a fair question, and it deserves a straight answer. The trouble is that the straight answer changed in August 2024, when the NAR settlement went into effect, and many sellers I meet still have the old answer in their heads — the one where 5 or 6 percent went to a commission pool split between two agents, and the seller covered all of it without much discussion. That model still describes what often happens in practice. But it no longer describes what the rules require. Those are two different things, and you should understand both.

What Commission Has Traditionally Looked Like on Long Island

Before the settlement, the standard practice on Long Island — and across the country — was straightforward even if it was never truly fixed: the seller paid a total commission of roughly 5 to 6 percent of the sale price, which was then split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. Per Houzeo’s data on Long Island commissions, that averaged around 5.66 percent in recent years, with listing agents typically taking 2.5 to 3 percent and buyer’s agents taking the remainder.

The reason sellers paid both sides is a quirk of how the MLS system was built: listing agents would post an offer of buyer’s agent compensation alongside the property listing, creating a mechanism that pooled the commission at the seller’s closing proceeds and distributed it to both representatives. The NAR lawsuit argued this arrangement suppressed competition and inflated commissions. The settlement agreed to change it.

On a $900,000 home — a reasonable benchmark for much of the mid-tier North Shore market right now — a 5.5 percent total commission came to $49,500. On a $1.5 million waterfront listing, the same rate produces $82,500. These are not small numbers, and sellers have every right to understand them before they sign anything.

What Changed After August 2024

The NAR settlement, which went into effect on August 17, 2024, eliminated the requirement that buyer’s agent compensation be posted on the MLS. Sellers are now formally not obligated to pay the buyer’s agent at all. Buyers must sign written agreements with their agents spelling out exactly how and how much they’ll be compensated, and that compensation cannot be bundled invisibly into a seller-funded commission pool via MLS fields the way it once was.

What this means in practice is that there are now two separate negotiations happening: one between seller and listing agent, and one between buyer and buyer’s agent. The seller’s obligation is to the listing agent only — unless the seller chooses to offer a concession to help cover the buyer’s side.

It’s worth noting a wrinkle specific to New York: many brokerage firms in New York City and the surrounding region operate under REBNY (the Real Estate Board of New York) rather than NAR, and REBNY implemented its own parallel rule changes. The principle is the same: buyer compensation is now separately negotiated and documented, not bundled into a seller-side commission split. For sellers on Long Island — whether working with NAR-affiliated brokers or REBNY members — the landscape shifted in the same direction.

What Is Actually Happening in Practice

Here is where the reality diverges from the rule, and I want to be honest about it: most Long Island sellers are still covering the buyer’s agent commission. A HomeLight survey of top agents nationwide found that 92 percent of them reported sellers continue to offer to pay the buyer’s agent fees even after the settlement. It’s not because sellers are required to — they’re not. It’s because of market mechanics.

If a seller offers nothing toward the buyer’s agent, buyers must pay that fee out of pocket — typically 2 to 3 percent of the purchase price. On a $900,000 home, that’s $18,000 to $27,000 in addition to everything else a buyer is already bringing to closing. The result is predictable: buyers shift their search toward listings where the seller is offering a concession, agents steer buyers toward properties where their compensation is covered, and the listing without a buyer’s agent offer gets less traffic. In a market where inventory is constrained and competition for qualified buyers matters, most sellers decide that offering a concession is worth it.

That said: the terms are now yours to negotiate. You can offer a flat dollar amount toward the buyer’s agent fee rather than a percentage. You can tie it to performance — a higher offer price earns a more generous concession. You can set a ceiling. These are conversations worth having with your listing agent before you set the terms of your listing.

What You Actually Owe Your Listing Agent

Your listing agent negotiates their fee directly with you, and that fee is genuinely negotiable — it always has been, though the industry never exactly advertised the fact. Typical listing commissions on Long Island now run in the 2.5 to 3 percent range. On a high-priced property, you may be able to negotiate lower, since the commission is a percentage of a larger number and the agent’s workload doesn’t scale linearly with price. On a lower-priced property, an agent may hold firmer, because the margin is thinner.

What you’re paying for is specific: pricing strategy, preparation guidance, professional photography and marketing, MLS access, broker networking, offer management, negotiation, and transaction management through to closing. A good listing agent is not just putting your home on Zillow and waiting. They’re managing a process that, on the North Shore, can involve significant complexity — whether that’s easement history, flood zone disclosures, permit questions, or the particular buyer psychology of a seasonal market.

What the listing agent charges and what they deliver are related but not identical. Ask about their marketing approach before you sign. Ask how they determine list price and what their methodology looks like beyond pulling comps. Ask about their days-on-market track record.

Running the Numbers

Let’s work through a concrete example. Assume a $950,000 home on the North Shore. Your listing agent charges 2.75 percent, and you decide to offer a 2.5 percent concession toward the buyer’s agent as a seller credit. Your total commission outlay: 5.25 percent, or $49,875.

If you negotiate your listing agent down to 2.5 percent and offer the same buyer’s agent concession: 5 percent total, or $47,500. The difference is $2,375. On a million-dollar transaction with significant other closing costs — transfer taxes, attorney fees, any remaining liens — that number is real but not necessarily the primary lever.

The seller net sheet — which I’ve written about as a document that is not legally binding and has real consequences when misread — is where this all comes together. Before you list, ask your broker to walk you through a full net estimate: sale price, minus commission (both sides if you’re offering a concession), minus New York State and local transfer taxes, minus any outstanding mortgage, minus attorney fees and other closing costs. That is your actual number. The commission is often the largest single line, but it is not the only one.

Also worth knowing: in New York, the seller pays the state transfer tax of 0.4 percent of the sale price, and additional local transfer taxes apply in certain municipalities. These are separate from commission and are non-negotiable. Your attorney will walk you through all of it, and you should make sure they do.

What I Actually Think

The commission question is the one that makes sellers feel most vulnerable, and I understand why. You’ve watched the value of your home grow — sometimes significantly — and then you’re presented with a bill at the finish line that can feel disproportionate to what you personally needed done. I get it.

What I’d push back on is the assumption that commission is a fixed cost you’re managing around rather than a variable with strategic implications. The right listing agent, at a fair commission, will typically earn that fee back in price. I’ve seen sellers save a percent on listing commission by going with the lowest bidder and leave four percent on the table in negotiation. Pricing to the penny matters, preparation matters, and the agent who is genuinely invested in the outcome — not just in moving the listing off their desk — is worth understanding before you reduce them to a percentage point.

The rules have changed. The leverage is now yours in ways it wasn’t two years ago. Use it thoughtfully.

This is for informational purposes only — consult a licensed attorney or financial advisor for your specific situation.

Real estate markets change. This post reflects conditions as of April 2026. For current listings and market data, contact Pawli at Maison Pawli.

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