Co-Broking in NYC: How Two Agents Split a Commission

We co-broke on most of our deals, with a second firm on the other side, and we rebate part of our share to the buyer. So this is the mechanism as it runs on a real NYC closing.

The short version: two firms, one commission, and a handshake the seller pays for.

What is co-broking?

Co-broking, or co-brokerage, is cooperation between two brokerage firms on one transaction. One firm has the listing. The other represents the buyer. They split the commission.

In NYC, listings are shared through REBNY’s Residential Listing Service, and firms that join agree to co-broke under the REBNY RLS Universal Co-Brokerage Agreement. The RLS covers the five boroughs. Non-REBNY firms can join it separately.

The alternative to co-broking is one firm on both sides, which is dual agency. Co-broking keeps a real advocate on each side.

How the commission split works

The seller’s listing agreement sets one total. That’s the fifty-fifty split that REBNY put in writing, then took back out. For years, the UCBA prescribed an even split between the cooperating firms. REBNY has since removed those provisions.

Now the split is whatever the seller offers, and the buyer’s broker accepts. A 6% total might be 3% and 3%, or it might not. REBNY’s current position is that “commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable,” and its listing service no longer collects compensation data at all.

Our page on who pays the buyer’s agent commission covers what happens when the seller’s offer falls short of the buyer’s broker’s agreed fee.

What decoupling changed in 2024

REBNY “decoupled” commissions effective January 1, 2024. The offer used to ride along with the listing; now it arrives in a separate mailing.

Before, the listing broker made and handled the buy-side compensation offer. After that, the offer has to originate from the seller or owner. The buyer’s broker is “directly compensated by the seller or owner of the exclusive property at the closing, as is customary in the New York City area.”

REBNY went further in 2025. It removed all compensation fields from the RLS on August 1, 2025, so listings show no buy-side number at all, and agents can’t sort listings by what they pay. This page is part of our guide to NYC commissions and rebates.

Procuring cause and disputes

The procuring cause is the dispute over who actually sold the apartment. When two agents both claim a commission, this is the test.

NAR defines it as “the uninterrupted series of causal events which results in the successful transaction.” An agent is the procuring cause if their efforts were “the foundation on which the negotiations resulting in a sale are begun.”

When both firms are members, the fight goes to arbitration, through REBNY under the UCBA or through the local Realtor association, not to a lawsuit. A NAR panel has to decide within 48 hours of the hearing.

Co-broking and your rebate

The co-broke is the pipe through which the rebate flows. The seller pays the full buy-side commission to the buyer’s brokerage. That brokerage then decides what to do with it.

At NestApple, we keep a working share and rebate the rest to the buyer, averaging about $22,000 per closing. New York law allows this under Real Property Law § 442, and the IRS treats the rebate as a reduction of the purchase price, not as income.

See what NestApple returns to buyers, read whether commission rebates are legal where you’re buying, and run a real deal in our closing-cost calculators.

What we see on our own deals

The split is negotiable, which surprises the agent more than the client. Some listing agents still quote “3% to the co-broker” as if it were fixed. It isn’t, and post-decoupling, the number comes from the seller anyway.

The other thing we see is that buyers rarely know a co-broke is happening. It’s the default, it’s invisible, and it’s the reason a buyer’s agent costs a buyer nothing on most deals.

Common questions

What does co-broking mean? It means the listing brokerage and a separate buyer’s brokerage cooperate on one sale and split the commission the seller pays. It’s the standard way NYC resales close.

How is the commission split? However, the seller offers, and the buyer’s broker accepts. REBNY used to prescribe a 50/50 split between the two firms, but removed that rule, and its listing service no longer records compensation.

What is procuring cause? It’s the standard for deciding which agent earned the commission when more than one claims it. Disputes between member firms go to arbitration, not court.

Does co-broking affect my rebate? No, it enables it. The seller pays the full buy-side commission to your brokerage, which can then rebate part of it to you.

Written by Nicole Fishman Benoliel

Co-founder of NestApple and a lawyer admitted to the New York bar, not currently practising.