The way you hire a real estate agent to buy a home changed in August 2024, and this past summer the last legal question got answered. If you bought on Oahu before then, or you're relocating and your last purchase was years ago, the first thing that happens when we start working together will feel new. You'll sign an agreement before I unlock a single door. Here's what that is, why it exists, and how it actually plays out when you're buying a home in Hawaii.
What actually changed, in plain terms
A group of home-seller lawsuits against the National Association of REALTORS and several large brokerages ended in a settlement. The practice changes from that settlement took effect nationwide on August 17, 2024. For a while there was still a question of whether appeals might unwind the whole thing. That question closed on August 19, 2026, when the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the settlements and ended the case. So the rules below aren't temporary or up in the air anymore. They're how buying works now.
Two things are different for you as a buyer:
- You sign a written buyer agreement before you tour a home. If an agent is going to represent you and take you into a property, in person or on an agent-led video walkthrough, there has to be a signed agreement in place first.
- Agent pay isn't posted on the MLS anymore. It used to be that a seller's offer to pay the buyer's agent was built into the listing in the MLS. Those fields are gone. Compensation is now worked out in writing between you and your agent, and separately handled in the deal.
That's the core of it. Everything else is detail.
The agreement you'll sign with me
In Hawaii, the form most of us use is the Hawaii REALTORS Buyer Representation Contract, form RR104 (Hawaii REALTORS standard forms library). It's short and it's readable. It spells out that I'm representing you, what I'll do, how long the agreement runs, and what my compensation is.
A few things I want you to know before you sign anything, with me or anyone else:
The compensation has to be a real, fixed number. The settlement requires it to be specific and not open-ended. So it's a set percentage or a flat dollar figure, written down. An agent can't put "whatever the seller offers" or a vague range on the form. And here's the part that protects you: once we agree on a figure, I can't collect more than that from the deal, even if a seller happens to be offering more. If I agree to represent you for a certain amount and a seller is offering above it, the difference doesn't come to me.
It's negotiable, and it always was. Commission rates are not set by law in Hawaii or anywhere else, and never have been. The rate, the length of the agreement, whether it covers one property or your whole search, all of that is up for discussion before you sign. If an agent tells you a number is fixed by rule, that's not correct.
You don't have to marry an agent to see a house. The agreement can be written to cover a single property, a short trial window, or a full exclusive search. If you're not sure about an agent yet, you can start narrow. I'd rather earn the exclusive than demand it on day one.
So who actually pays me?
This is the big question, so I'll be straight about it. Your agent's pay can come from the seller, from you, or from a split of both. It's negotiated deal by deal now instead of being assumed.
In practice on Oahu, a lot of sellers still choose to offer compensation to the buyer's side, because a home that's friendly to buyer financing tends to sell better. They just can't advertise it on the MLS. We find out a different way. When we're interested in a property, I ask. Often the seller is offering something, and that covers all or most of what you owe me under our agreement.
When a seller isn't offering enough to cover it, you have options, and none of them means writing me a surprise check at closing:
- We can ask the seller to cover your agent's compensation as a term of your offer, the same way buyers have long asked sellers to cover a share of closing costs. In a lot of Oahu price ranges there's room to negotiate this.
- If a seller won't budge and you want the house, the gap can sometimes be worked into your financing or paid directly, and we'd talk through that before you're ever committed to it.
The point is you'll know the number up front, in writing, and we'll have a plan for how it gets covered before you fall in love with a place. No one likes a mystery fee at the table. There won't be one.
Why this is more good than bad for buyers
I've been doing this on this island for 20+ years, and honestly, putting the buyer's agent relationship in writing is healthy. For a long time the buyer side was the fuzzy part of the transaction. You'd meet an agent at an open house and suddenly they were "your agent" with nothing ever discussed about what they'd do or what they'd be paid. Now it's on paper. You know what you're getting and what it costs, and you can hold me to it.
It also means you should interview your agent like it matters, because it does. When you're buying in a market like Oahu, where a leasehold property, a condo in a non-conforming building, or a home in a flood zone or tsunami evacuation zone can turn into a real problem after closing, who's sitting on your side of the table is not a small thing. Ask how long they've worked the neighborhoods you're looking at. Ask what they've seen go wrong in those buildings or on those streets. The paperwork is new. The reason you want a sharp buyer's agent is not.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really have to sign something before I can look at a house in Hawaii?
If you want an agent representing you and walking you through properties, yes. The rule is that the written buyer agreement is in place before the tour. If you're just wandering into an open house being hosted by the seller's agent, that's different, no agreement needed for that. But the moment you want someone on your side showing you homes, we sign first.
Does the agreement lock me in with one agent forever?
Only if you write it that way. An agreement can cover a single property, a short trial period, or a full exclusive search. If you're testing the waters with me, let's start small and you can decide once you've seen how I work. The term and the scope are both negotiable.
Is the buyer's agent commission paid by me or the seller now?
Depends on the deal. A lot of Oahu sellers still offer to pay the buyer's side, they just can't post it on the MLS anymore, so I find out by asking. When the seller covers it, great. When they don't, we can ask them to as part of your offer, or we work out another way, and you'll know the plan before you're committed to anything.
Can I still negotiate what my agent gets paid?
Always. Commission is not set by any law or rule in Hawaii. The rate, the length of the agreement, what it covers, all of it is on the table before you sign. Any agent who tells you otherwise is wrong.
Is the NAR settlement final, or could it change again?
It's final. The practice changes took effect in August 2024, and the appeals court upheld the whole settlement in August 2026, which ended the case. This is how buying works now, not a trial run.
This is general information from a licensed real estate broker, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Rules and figures change, so confirm anything that affects your decision with the right licensed professional. Buyer agreements are contracts, so review yours carefully.
Sources: NAR consumer guide to written buyer agreements, Eighth Circuit decision upholding the NAR settlement (No. 24-3444), Hawaii REALTORS Standard Forms Library (RR104 Buyer Representation Contract)
Tony Kawaguchi, R(B), The Kawaguchi Group, eXp Realty. Hawaii broker, license RB-21841, 20+ years and $1B+ in Oahu sales, leading a team of 20+ agents.
Buying on Oahu? Let's talk before you sign anything.
If you're starting a home search here, whether you're local, relocating from the mainland, or PCSing in with the military, I'm happy to walk you through the buyer agreement line by line before you commit to a thing. No pressure and no obligation to sign on the spot. Start with my guide to buying on Oahu, browse neighborhoods and listings, and reach out to me when you want a real conversation. If you're buying from out of state, my remote buyer's guide covers how we handle that, and when you're ready to compete, here's how to win in a multiple-offer situation.