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The Power of Buyer Rebates: Why Every Homebuyer Should Understand Them
Buyer rebates have been around for years in the states that allow them—but surprisingly few buyers take advantage of them. We have never used a rebate program ourselves, but after speaking with several experts who specialize in this space, we are increasingly impressed. In fact, buyer rebates may become one of the most powerful tools buyers can use—especially now, as some agents attempt to raise their commissions from 2.5% to 3%, as recently reported by the Consumer Policy Center.
So, what exactly is a buyer rebate?
Glad you asked. If you’re even thinking about buying a home, this is something you should fully understand—and potentially use to your financial advantage.
What Is a Buyer Rebate?
There are a few variations, but the structure we have seen most often is simple and extremely consumer friendly.
You enter a (usually very consumer-friendly) buyer agency agreement with a buyer agent who charges a flat fee for their services. One company that caught my attention is Homa (https://www.tryhoma.com/). They’ll provide you with a licensed buyer agent who will guide you through the entire buying process, schedule and conduct showings through Showami, and handle the logistics—for just $1,995.
That’s it. No percentage fees. No surprises.
Now here’s where the rebate part comes in.
The buyer agent still collects the standard buyer-side commission that sellers typically offer—often around 2.5%. But because you have a flat-fee agreement, you get the difference back at closing.
Yes, really.
On a $1,000,000 home, a 2.5% commission equals $25,000. Subtract the $1,995 fee you agreed to pay, and that’s over $23,000 back in your pocket.
It’s not magic—it’s math. And it’s enormous.
If you don’t have the funds to pay the flat fee upfront, negotiate with the seller to cover it. If you do have the cash, pay it yourself—you’ll save the interest cost of rolling it into a 30-year mortgage (not huge, but sometimes every penny helps).
Why Buyer Rebates Solve Big Pain Points
Many buyers who try to go unrepresented assume they’ll automatically get the 2.5% commission credit applied to their closing costs. Unfortunately, this often isn’t what happens in practice.
Buyer rebates solve two major problems:
1. Listing Agents Often Try to Keep the Commission
When you show up unrepresented, the listing agent frequently tries to “claim” the buyer‐side commission—sometimes for themselves, sometimes under the argument that it goes back to the seller. Either way, it’s incredibly hard for the buyer to reclaim the funds they effectively generated by being unrepresented.
With a rebate structure, that problem disappears. Your agent earns the standard commission and passes the savings back to you by contract.
2. Seeing Homes Without Representation Is Shockingly Difficult
You’d think that a listing agent would happily show you the home—they have a fiduciary duty to the seller, after all, and getting more potential buyers through the door should be the goal.
But in reality? It’s surprisingly difficult.
Agents often hesitate unless you agree to let them handle the transaction for both sides. A flat-fee buyer agent solves this immediately: you get access, representation, and transparency without locking yourself into a bloated commission structure.
Bottom Line: Buyer Rebates Put Power Back in Buyers’ Hands
Buyer rebates are not a gimmick—they’re a rational response to a market where buyers desperately need cost-saving tools and transparency. The traditional commission model has long favored agents, not consumers. Flat-fee models combined with rebates flip that dynamic.
If you’re buying a home, you should investigate services like Homa. We already have and will continue to do so.
At a time when affordability is already strained and fees keep creeping upward, using a rebate could be one of the smartest financial decisions you make in the entire homebuying process
