Do I Really Have to Sign a Contract Before My Agent Shows Me a House?

What the Rules Actually Say

There are two overlapping rules here. First, a nationwide real estate practice change took effect in August 2024. For agents working under the covered MLS rules, a written buyer agreement needs to be in place before the agent tours a home with you, whether the tour is in person or live on video.

California added its own law a few months later. AB 2992 took effect January 1, 2025, and requires a buyer-agent agreement as soon as practical, but no later than when you make an offer. State regulations now presume that signing before your agent shows you a property is practical. The agreement has to explain the services, compensation, when payment is due and when the agreement expires. For an individual buyer, the term is capped at 90 days and it can't renew itself automatically.

One useful exception: if you wander into an open house on your own, the agent there is representing the seller, not automatically becoming your buyer's agent. You do not need to sign a buyer agreement just to walk through that open house.

The idea behind all of it is transparency. Buyers should know upfront what they're agreeing to instead of finding out later, and honestly, I don't disagree with that part. Where I push back is what it's done to the actual experience of house hunting, because now the first thing that happens is paperwork instead of falling in love with a house, and that feels backwards to me. We should be making this easier for buyers, not harder. But these are the rules now, so let's talk about what they mean for you instead of just complaining about them.

What It Means for Your Money

The compensation line is the part that actually scares people, because the agreement spells out what your agent is being paid and what you could owe if that amount isn't covered another way. Compensation is negotiable and isn't set by law. A seller may agree to pay your agent or contribute through the deal, but it isn't automatic and it isn't guaranteed.

My going rate is 2.5%, and in my own transactions since these changes took effect, I haven't had one where the seller didn't ultimately agree to cover it. That's my experience, not a promise about every house. My practice is simple: I show my clients every home that fits what they're looking for, regardless of whether the seller is offering buyer-agent compensation.

I also want to be honest about what still happens in the market. Some agents do avoid or deprioritize homes when the seller isn't offering buyer-agent compensation, especially if they're still trying to work the way the old system worked or don't want to have the more complicated compensation conversation. That is a real thing buyers should know about, but it is not how I work, and it is not an acceptable way to narrow a client's choices. For REALTORS®, steering based on compensation is prohibited. The buyer should hear about every home that fits their criteria and remain in the driver's seat.

If the seller isn't already offering to cover the buyer's agent, we talk before the offer about whether to request it in the deal, negotiate another solution or plan for what the buyer agreed to pay. That conversation belongs upfront, not after you're deep into an offer. I already broke down how real estate commission actually works if you want the full picture. And if you've hired someone good, they should bring real value through the houses they help you evaluate honestly, the negotiating room they find and the mistakes they catch before you ever make them.

No, You're Not Automatically Stuck

People hear there's a signed agreement involved and assume they're locked into one agent no matter what. The real answer is in the agreement itself. California limits the initial term for an individual buyer to 90 days and doesn't allow automatic renewal, but the agreement can still explain how termination works and include a protection period for a specific house the agent introduced you to.

If the relationship isn't working, ask the broker for a written release. Most brokers would rather resolve it than drag things out, but don't assume the agreement disappears because you stop calling. Read the termination and protection-period language before you sign, and ask the question while everyone is still getting along.

I know exactly how much that gap can cost someone, because I've lost a buyer to it. They wanted to work with me, but they were already signed with someone else and didn't realize there was a way to ask for a release. We waited longer than we should have, and in that gap, someone else got in their ear and I lost them because someone didn't move fast enough to let them go.

That's exactly why, if it's not working out between me and a buyer for any reason, I let people go quickly. You can also ask me anything about this before you sign with anyone, not just me. Holding someone to paperwork while they miss out on the house they actually want doesn't help me and it definitely doesn't help them. Honestly, I'm confident enough in what I do that I don't need a contract to keep someone around.

What to Actually Do With This

The contract is real and so are the rules behind it, but none of that means it has to feel like a trap, and it definitely shouldn't slow you down from finding the right house. Ask your agent what you're actually signing before you sign it. Ask how compensation works, how to end the agreement if the relationship isn't working and whether any protection period survives a release. A good agent will tell you straight, the same way I just did.

This is practical real estate information, not legal advice. Your rights and obligations depend on the agreement you sign.