Two things most commission pages won't say plainly: every commission is negotiable — there is no set rate, by law — and the rules changed materially in 2024. Here's the current, honest picture.
What Would My Sale Net, All-In →Commissions are negotiable. Full stop. No law, board or MLS sets a rate in Idaho or anywhere in the country — antitrust law specifically forbids it — and any agent who describes a percentage as “standard” or “what everyone charges” is describing their preference, not a rule. What you pay is what you and your agent agree to in writing, and that agreement is yours to negotiate like any professional service.
The 2024 industry settlement changed the mechanics. Under the practices adopted after the NAR settlement, offers of compensation to buyers' agents no longer ride along in the MLS listing, and buyers now sign written agreements with their own agents spelling out what that agent is paid and by whom. Practically, for a seller: what you offer toward the buyer's side — if anything — is now an explicit, negotiated decision made with your listing strategy, not a default baked into the listing. It can be a competitive tool, a negotiation concession, or absent entirely; that's a strategy call we make deliberately, in writing.
The honest way to evaluate any commission is against the outcome, not the percentage. A listing agent's actual work product is: pricing accuracy (the difference between a sharp comp analysis and a guess routinely exceeds any commission), preparation and presentation that remove buyer deductions, market exposure, negotiation on price and terms through inspection and appraisal, and an escrow that closes instead of collapsing. Paying less for a listing that sits, chases the market down and renegotiates after inspection is the expensive version of saving money.
That cuts both ways, and you should hold me to it too: ask any agent you interview — including me — what specifically they do for the fee, what their pricing track record looks like, and how the buyer-side compensation decision will be made on your listing. Good answers are specific. For the full picture of where commission sits among your other selling costs — title, escrow, prorations, and Idaho's zero transfer tax — the cost-to-sell breakdown puts every line on one page, with a worked example on the county median.
There isn't one — legally can't be. Every commission is negotiated between you and your agent and set in your written agreement. Anyone quoting a 'standard rate' is stating their preference, not a rule.
Following the NAR settlement: buyer-agent compensation offers no longer appear in MLS listings, and buyers sign written agreements with their agents covering compensation. For sellers, contributing toward the buyer's side is now an explicit strategic choice — usable as a competitive lever, negotiable in any offer, or omitted — rather than a listing default.
No — it's a negotiated decision, not an obligation. Whether offering buyer-side compensation helps your specific listing compete is a strategy conversation with real trade-offs in both directions, and it belongs in your listing plan, in writing.
Sometimes — it depends what's actually removed to fund the discount. Evaluate any model, including mine, the same way: what exactly is done for the fee, what does the pricing track record look like, and what happens when the transaction hits trouble. The cheapest listing that mishandles pricing or inspection costs multiples of any commission savings.
Plan around 6–9% of the price all-in — negotiated commission plus title, escrow and prorations, with a worked example on the $565,000 county median running roughly $35,000 — and no Idaho transfer tax. The line-by-line version is on the cost-to-sell page.
Jeff Kanally — Broker, Epique Realty. Licensed in Idaho & Washington, serving Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum & the greater Spokane area. Commission practices described per the post-2024-settlement rules as generally implemented; specifics are set by your written agreements. General information, not an appraisal, and not tax or legal advice — confirm tax questions with a CPA and current figures with the relevant county.