Updated: October 21, 2026 · By Mark Dietel, Broker/Owner, Mark Dietel Realty · 6-minute read
Quick answer: Not automatically. Since August 17, 2024, no rule requires an Indiana seller to pay the buyer's agent, and any request is negotiated in the offer. Indiana requires the buyer's written agreement, and under the NAR settlement rules it states what their agent can be paid, so every request has a ceiling. Mark Dietel Realty walks Greenwood sellers through the options.
What we analyzed: the NAR settlement practice changes (effective August 17, 2024), Indiana's written-agreement law as summarized by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Freddie Mac's mortgage survey as of October 15, 2026, and the Indiana REALTORS Johnson County report for August 2026.
Key takeaways
- The NAR settlement moved buyer-agent pay off the MLS and into the offer itself. You choose how to respond, offer by offer.
- You have real options: agree to pay the buyer's broker, offer a concession the buyer can apply, decline and negotiate other terms, or mix approaches.
- Every buyer touring with an agent has signed a written agreement stating what that agent will be paid, and the agent can collect no more from any source.
- Judge any request the way you judge price and timing: by its effect on your bottom line, on a written net sheet.
What did the NAR settlement change for Indiana sellers?
Two things, effective August 17, 2024: offers of buyer-agent pay no longer appear on the MLS, and buyers must sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. Sellers may still offer concessions on the MLS or agree to buyer-side terms off it. Nothing is required either way.
Before the settlement, an offer to the buyer's side could be advertised through the MLS. Now the MLS carries no such field, and the question arrives inside each written offer: some ask the seller to pay the buyer's broker a stated amount, some ask for a general concession, and some ask for nothing. Any help is now a visible, negotiable line in the offer.
What are your options when an offer asks for buyer-agent help?
Four, broadly: agree as asked, counter with a different amount or structure, offer a concession the buyer applies where they choose, or decline and negotiate the rest of the offer. None is automatically right. The honest comparison is what each does to your net and to the odds the sale closes.
What are your options when an offer asks for buyer-agent help?
| Option | How it works | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Agree to the request | The purchase agreement states what you will pay the buyer's broker at closing | Simple and keeps the offer intact; test the full package against your net sheet |
| Counter the amount or structure | You respond with different buyer-side terms, price, or both | Everything in an offer is negotiable together; a counter can rebalance price and terms |
| Offer a concession instead | A credit the buyer can apply, subject to their loan program's limits | Flexible for the buyer; their lender caps how much can be applied |
| Decline buyer-side help | The buyer covers their own agent under their written agreement | Protects your net on paper; watch whether it narrows your realistic buyer pool |
A note on that last row: many buyers are stretching already, with Freddie Mac's survey putting the average 30-year rate at 7.40% as of October 15, 2026. A buyer asked to bring extra cash may simply write the numbers differently: a higher price with help requested rather than a lower price without it.
What does the buyer's own agreement mean for your sale?
Every buyer touring with an agent has already signed a written agreement stating, in specific and objective terms, what their broker will be paid. Under the NAR settlement practice rules, that broker cannot collect more than the agreed amount from any source. So a request in an offer has a known ceiling, and you can ask your agent to confirm it.
Indiana law already required this. House Enrolled Act 1068-2024, in force since July 1, 2024, requires written agency agreements on both sides of an Indiana sale, listing and buyer alike, each with a definitive expiration date and a copy delivered within three business days of signing. For you as a seller, the practical effect is good: the buyer-side request in an offer is not an open-ended number, and your listing agent should sanity-check any request against the buyer's signed agreement during negotiation.
How does the negotiation actually play out in an offer?
Like every other term. The request arrives in writing with the price, the earnest money, the inspection terms, and the closing date, and you respond to the whole package. Your listing agent should re-run your net sheet for each offer so you can compare what each one leaves you.
The mechanics are ordinary Indiana contract work: the term goes into the purchase agreement, survives counters, and shows up on your settlement statement at closing. We tell sellers to insist on seeing the whole board. An offer that looks lower can net higher, and the reverse. The tool for that is the net sheet, updated per offer; we wrote up exactly what goes into one in What Is a Seller Net Sheet in Indiana and What Goes Into It?, and the negotiation groundwork lives in our companion post, Is the Real Estate Commission Negotiable in Indiana?
What does this look like in Central Indiana?
A hypothetical, not a quote: your Greenwood home is listed at $330,000, the Johnson County median for August 2026. Two offers arrive. One is at full price and asks you to pay the buyer's broker an amount stated in the offer. The other is below list and asks for nothing on the buyer side.
The full-price offer looks stronger at first glance. On paper, it depends on the size of the stated request, the concessions, and each buyer's financing strength, so we would put both through your net sheet, with your negotiated agent compensation (enter yours) on its own line and each offer's buyer-side request on its own. Because Johnson County homes went pending in a median of 24 days in August 2026, our read is that these choices usually land in the first few weeks of a listing, so it pays to set your posture before you list. You may also weigh which buyer is likelier to reach closing. Sometimes the right answer is a counter to each; let the numbers decide.
When this doesn't apply
If your buyer has no agent, there is no buyer-side request to negotiate, which happens with some investor and cash purchases. Builder sales run on the builder's contract and policies. Auctions and court-ordered sales follow their own rules. And if you are selling without a listing agent, you will negotiate any buyer-agent request directly; our honest look at that path is in Is Selling Your Home Without a Realtor Worth It in 2026?
What to do next
Decide your starting posture before the first offer arrives: proactive help, respond offer by offer, or decline and rebalance elsewhere. Then run each choice through a written net sheet for your address so you can see what it does to your bottom line.
Prefer to talk? Call (317) 426-9911. Mark Dietel Realty has offices in Southside Indianapolis, Greenwood and Bloomington.
Read next: Is the Real Estate Commission Negotiable in Indiana? · What Does a Listing Agent Actually Do for the Fee in Indiana? · What Is a Seller Net Sheet in Indiana and What Goes Into It?
Questions sellers ask us about the buyer's side
Is it against the rules to offer buyer-agent help now?
No. The settlement bans advertising such offers on the MLS. It does not ban the practice. Sellers may offer concessions on the MLS, agree to buyer-side terms off it, or respond within each offer.
Will declining buyer-side help sink my sale?
Not by itself. Mostly, it changes how offers get written. Some buyers absorb the cost, some raise their price and ask for help, and some move on. Watch your showing traffic and offer pattern, and adjust with data rather than fear.
What exactly is a seller concession?
A credit you agree to give the buyer at closing, written into the purchase agreement, which the buyer applies within their loan program's limits. It is a general-purpose tool, and since 2024 it is one common way sellers structure help without naming the buyer's broker directly.
Where will I see all this at closing?
On your settlement statement from the title company, as its own line beside the payoff, prorations, and title charges, matching whatever the purchase agreement says. Indiana sales also file the State Sales Disclosure Form 46021. If a line surprises you there, it was not negotiated properly earlier.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Contract terms vary, and your situation may differ; talk with a licensed professional about your specific sale.
Mark Dietel Realty — offices in Indianapolis (Southside), Greenwood and Bloomington, Indiana.
Sources
- National Association of Realtors, "What the NAR Settlement Means for Home Buyers and Sellers" (practice changes effective August 17, 2024): https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/what-the-nar-settlement-means-for-home-buyers-and-sellers
- Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, "Indiana State Law Requires Written Listing and Buyer Agency Agreements" (June 27, 2024): https://www.in.gov/pla/files/IPLA-Press-Release-Indiana-State-Law-Requires-Written-Listing-and-Buyer-Agency-Agreements.pdf
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, as of October 15, 2026: https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
- Indiana Association of REALTORS Housing Data Hub, Johnson County report, August 2026: https://data.indianarealtors.com/viewreport/2/all/18081/
