Can You Buy a House Without a Realtor? Yes, Here’s How
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Yes. It’s legal to buy a house without a realtor in every US state, and about 12% of buyers do. But you take on pricing, negotiation, and the paperwork yourself. In New York, you still need a real estate attorney, and the commission you hoped to save may stay with the listing agent.
We represent buyers, so we have an interest here. We’ll be straight about it: skip the agent if you must; don’t skip the lawyer.
The short version: legal in every state, which is not the same as advisable in every deal.
| What an agent normally does | If you go without one |
|---|---|
| Prices the home against comps | You pull the comps and judge them |
| Runs the negotiation | You negotiate directly with the listing agent |
| Coordinates inspection and disclosures | You schedule and read them yourself |
| Manages the timeline to closing | You track every contingency and deadline |
| The contract and closing | Still your attorney, in New York, either way |
Can you buy a house without a realtor?
Yes, everywhere. No law requires a buyer to have an agent. In 2024, about 88% of buyers used one, so roughly one in eight did not.
It’s more common in two situations: a for-sale-by-owner deal, where the seller also has no agent, and new construction, where the buyer deals with the sponsor’s sales office. Only about 63% of new-construction buyers are represented, against 92% for resales.
Doing it yourself is legal. Whether it saves money is a separate question, below.
What do you take on
The paperwork doesn’t care that you’re doing it as a favor to yourself. The risks of buying without a realtor come down to four jobs that land on you.
- Pricing. You pull recent sales in the building or block and decide what the home is worth. A bad read here costs more than a commission.
- Negotiation. You deal directly with the listing agent, who represents the seller and negotiates for a living.
- Disclosures and inspection. You order the inspection, read the seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement, and follow up on anything odd.
- The timeline. You track the mortgage contingency, the inspection period, and the closing date yourself.
In NYC, a co-op adds a board package: a REBNY financial statement, tax returns, reference letters, and a board interview. That’s a lot to assemble alone.
Why New York still needs an attorney
Do you need a lawyer to buy a house in NY? Effectively yes. This is the one job on the list an agent legally can’t do for you. The New York State Bar Association puts it plainly: “If you are buying a home in New York State, you will need to hire an attorney to negotiate the contract of sale and to represent you at the closing.”
The seller’s attorney drafts the contract. Your attorney reviews and negotiates it, orders the title report, handles the lien and payoff work, and runs the closing. A real estate agent can’t draft or negotiate a contract without being licensed or practicing law.
So dropping the agent doesn’t drop the legal cost. Budget $2,000 to $4,000 or more for your own attorney regardless.
Do you actually save the commission?
Often less than you think. The savings you pictured may already be in the listing agent’s pocket.
Here’s why. Since REBNY decoupled commissions in 2024, the seller offers the buy-side fee directly. If you show up unrepresented, the seller doesn’t automatically deduct that amount from the price. Frequently, the listing agent keeps the full commission, or the seller pockets the difference.
To capture the savings, you have to negotiate the credit into the offer in writing. Some unrepresented buyers do exactly that.
The cleaner route in New York is a rebate broker. You keep representation, and part of the commission the seller pays comes back to you. See what NestApple returns to buyers and whether commission rebates are legal where you’re buying. This page is part of our guide to NYC commissions and rebates.
New development is the common case
If you’re buying a sponsor unit, you’re probably already dealing directly with the developer. The sponsor’s sales office is friendly, and it isn’t on your side.
New-development contracts often shift the seller’s transfer taxes to the buyer and add a sponsor attorney fee of around $5,000. Total buyer closing costs can run 6% or more of the price, against 2% to 4% on a resale. An attorney who reviews offering plans is worth more here than an agent. Run the numbers in our closing-cost calculators.
What we’d tell a friend
Skip the agent if you must; don’t skip the lawyer. If you’re confident in price and comfortable negotiating, an unrepresented purchase can work, especially on an FSBO where there’s no listing agent to out-negotiate you.
If the appeal is saving the commission, a rebate broker gets you the same money while keeping your representation intact. And in a co-op, the board package alone is a reason to have help.
Common questions
Is it legal to buy a house without a realtor? Yes, in every US state. No law requires a buyer to be represented. About one in eight buyers goes without an agent.
Do I need a lawyer to buy a house in New York? Effectively yes. New York custom requires an attorney to negotiate the contract and represent you at closing, and an agent legally can’t do that work.
Will I save the commission if I don’t use an agent? Not automatically. Since 2024, the seller offers the buy-side fee directly, and an unrepresented buyer often sees the listing agent or seller keep it. You have to negotiate the credit into the offer.
Should I use an agent for new construction? The buyer usually deals with the sponsor directly. An attorney to review the offering plan matters more than an agent, but representation can still help with price and concessions.
Nicole Fishman Benoliel co-founded NestApple in 2017. She's a lawyer admitted to the New York bar - her law degree is from La Escuela Libre de Derecho in Costa Rica, with further study at IE Business School in Madrid and an LLM from Fordham in New York. She does not act in a legal capacity at NestApple; every client is referred to an attorney who handles real estate deals full time.
