Buyer Brokerage in NYC
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Buyer brokerage means having a licensed agent who works for you, the buyer, not the seller. In New York, you always have a right to one. Since January 2025, a REBNY member signs a written buyer agreement with you before showing you an apartment, and you can still switch brokers if it goes wrong.
We represent buyers for a living. This is the part of a New York deal people either take for granted or get badly wrong. Here’s what the rules say, starting with the state’s own position.
What is a buyer’s agent?
A buyer’s agent, or buyer’s broker, is the licensee on your side of the table. They set up showings, run the comparable sales, write and negotiate your offer, and stay on the deal through the board and the closing.
New Yorkers scout their own apartments, then act surprised that there is paperwork. So plenty of people meet their buyer’s agent only when it’s time to make an offer. That’s later than it should be.
You’re entitled to that representation. For years, the Department of State has said a purchaser has a right to their own agent. A listing broker can’t refuse to work with one. In the DOS’s words: “Any denial violates the listing broker’s duty to deal honestly, fairly, and in good faith with the buyer.”
That holds even if the seller told their broker not to cooperate. The alternative is to sign a dual-agency disclosure and let the listing agent represent both sides. It rarely works in your favor, and our buying process guide explains why.
Do I need to sign a buyer agency agreement?
In New York City, yes, if you want a REBNY member to show you homes. Two changes stacked up:
- August 2024: The NAR settlement made a written buyer agreement mandatory nationwide before an agent tours a home with you.
- January 2025: REBNY added its own rule for New York City members, so the agreement comes first, before the first showing.
| Date | What changed | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| August 2024 | A written buyer agreement is required before a tour | Nationwide, NAR settlement |
| January 2025 | Same rule, REBNY’s own version | New York City REBNY members |
It’s the form nobody reads until it is the only thing anyone discusses. It names your agent, states their fee and its source, and sets a term. It’s negotiable.
Read the fee and the length before you sign. Ask whether a rebate is written into it. If it isn’t, our post on what NestApple returns to buyers shows what that looks like at closing. You can price your own deal with the rebate applied.
Procuring cause: the rule that decides who gets paid
The procuring cause is the reason two agents sometimes fight over one commission. A broker earns a share of the fee only if they were the procuring cause of the sale. The National Association of Realtors defines that as “the uninterrupted series of causal events that leads to a successful transaction.”
New York courts put it plainly. An Appellate Division standard requires a “direct and proximate link” between the broker and the deal. Showing you a door is not the same as being the reason you walked through it.
The broker has to have set off the chain of events that ended in a signed contract. Whether they did is a fact-by-fact question every time.
Why this matters to you: it’s why agents ask you not to visit open houses alone, and why letting a second broker “just send an offer” can create a mess. For background before you tour, see the difference between an agent and a broker and our house-hunting tips.
Can you switch real estate agents?
Yes. Without an exclusive agreement, you can change brokers at any point in a deal. Buyers have fired a broker the night before closing.
What switching doesn’t do is erase who the procuring cause was. If Broker A introduced you to the apartment and set the deal in motion, Broker A may still be owed a share even if Broker B signs the closing papers.
An exclusive buyer agreement changes that. Sign one, and you’re committed to that agent for its term. Exclusive agreements are still uncommon in New York City residential deals, but the post-2024 written agreements have made them less rare, so read yours.
What we see on our own buyer deals
Here’s the most common call we get after a first showing. A buyer got an offer from a broker they met once at an open house. They want to know if they’re stuck, and almost always they aren’t. One introduction, with nothing that led to a meeting of the minds, isn’t procuring cause.
This business started with Nicole placing one offer on a fourth apartment for Georges, then rebating the commission. Buyer representation, done straight, isn’t complicated. It’s one agent, in writing, who works for you and tells you where their money comes from.
Common questions
Does a buyer always have a right to their own agent in New York? Yes. The Department of State has consistently held that a purchaser has the right to representation. A listing broker can’t refuse to cooperate with a buyer’s broker, even at the seller’s request.
When do I sign a buyer agency agreement in NYC? Before your first showing with a REBNY member. The requirement comes from the August 2024 NAR settlement and REBNY’s own January 2025 rule for New York City.
Is the buyer’s agent commission still set by the seller? Not automatically. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, the buyer’s agent fee is negotiated openly and stated in your buyer agreement. A seller can still offer to cover it.
Can my old agent still get paid if I switch brokers? Possibly. Switching brokers doesn’t change who the procuring cause was. The first agent may still be entitled to a share of the commission.
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.
