Surge in realtor fees in Nevada continues despite slowed home sales, study reveals

Realtor fees continue to rise in Nevada and the rest of the country despite a recent landmark court ruling and a slowdown in home sales, according to a new study.

Average Realtor commissions in Nevada are currently about 5.7 percent, with 2.7 percent going to the buyer’s agent and 2.9 percent going to the seller’s agent, according to Clever Real Estate, an online real estate agent search platform. The company surveyed approximately 500 agents across the country in various markets along with using Zillow and Federal Reserve statistics.

Last year when Clever did the study, the average Realtor fee in Nevada was 5.6 percent.

The National Association of Realtors last year settled a class-action lawsuit that alleged real estate agents were colluding to fix commissions for buyers and sellers.

In the $418 million settlement, NAR agreed to two big changes. First, seller’s agents could no longer advertise commission fees to buyer’s agents via the Multiple Listing Service, where the majority of existing homes are listed for sale. Second, potential buyers must sign a contract with a real estate agent upfront before being shown homes. The changes went into effect last August.

Nicole Lehman, a spokesperson for Clever Real Estate, said the current market climate and the recent settlement could be playing into this; however, nailing down a specific reason is tough as every transaction is guided by different factors.

“It’s difficult to pin agent fees to one market factor since they’re set by individual brokerages and agents with their own motivations,” she said. “Some agents may raise rates a bit in a stagnant market because they’re making fewer sales overall. “As for the NAR lawsuit, buyers’ agent commission initially dipped in the months following the NAR decision, but soon corrected, and is now higher than before the lawsuit.”

The national average for Realtor commission is 5.7 percent and continues an upward trend in commission rates since 2024 when they hit a low mark at 5.3 percent. Then they rose to 5.5 percent last year. Commission rates back in 2022 were 5.3 percent.

Last year was the worst year for residential real estate sales in Southern Nevada since the start of the Great Recession in 2007; however, home prices broke record highs multiple times last year, according to figures provided to the Las Vegas Review-Journal by the Las Vegas Realtors.