Your Waxahachie Buyer Asked You to Pay Their Agent in the Contract. Here Is How to Answer (2026)

By Steven J. Thomas

If you are selling in Waxahachie this fall, an offer may ask you to contribute to the buyer's agent's pay. That request now sits inside the contract, and you decide how to answer it.

Direct answer

Texas sellers do not have to pay a buyer's agent, and no rate is fixed. Since July 1, 2026, the revised TREC resale contract addresses broker compensation in Paragraph 12, so it is negotiated offer by offer. You can accept the request, decline it, or counter. Compare each offer by what you net after every term, not by the headline price, based on current conditions.

What changed in 2026

Compensation used to travel through the MLS and the listing agreement. That system is gone. Texas REALTORS reports that the TXR 1101 listing agreement, effective June 15, 2026, removed broker-to-broker compensation from the listing agreement. The TREC contract revisions, mandatory July 1, 2026, restructured Paragraph 12. The seller's ability to contribute to the buyer's broker is spelled out there, and buyers now have an option to contribute to the seller's broker as well (Texas REALTORS, May-June 2026 forms changes).

The practical result: the question shows up inside the offer. A buyer who signed a representation agreement with an agent may ask you to cover some or all of that agent's fee. You are answering it next to price, closing cost credits and the closing date.

Why it matters more this fall

Buyers hold more bargaining power right now. Realtor.com's September 2026 housing report puts the share of DFW listings with a price cut at 27.5%, and it shows national contracts signed down 4.1% from a year ago, the steepest drop since March 2025 (Realtor.com, September 2026). Rates rose about 40 basis points over four weeks in the same report. Fewer buyers are signing, and each one carries a monthly payment limit. A seller who understands the compensation line can decide where to spend a concession.

What it looks like in dollars

This is an illustration, not a quote. Say you list at $420,000 and two offers arrive.

• Offer A: $420,000, and the buyer asks you to pay $10,500 toward their agent. Before other costs you keep $409,500.
• Offer B: $412,000, no compensation request. Before other costs you keep $412,000.

Offer B looks $8,000 lower and puts $2,500 more in your pocket. Add a seller-paid closing cost request, a loan type with appraisal risk, or a longer closing date, and the ranking can flip again. Line up every term for each offer before you answer any of them.

Three ways to answer the request

• Accept it as written when the price and terms are strong enough that the trade makes sense
• Counter with a lower amount and keep the price where it is
• Decline it. The buyer then pays their agent under their own agreement, and some buyers will still go forward

You can also trade it. A buyer who needs $10,500 from you may take a $10,500 closing cost credit or a rate buydown instead, which can lower their payment more than a price cut of the same size. Ask what the buyer's payment target is before you pick.

Where most agents stop

Most agents focus on the house. The offer is the house plus every dollar attached to it. I hold a real estate license and a loan officer license, so I can run a buyer's payment with your concession and show you which structure moves their number the most. That makes your counter specific instead of a guess.

FAQ: buyer's agent compensation for Waxahachie sellers

Do I have to pay the buyer's agent in Texas?

No. Compensation is negotiable, and a seller can decline to contribute. If you do, the buyer pays their own agent under their representation agreement.

Where does the request appear in the offer?

In Paragraph 12 of the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract, revised effective July 1, 2026. Read the exact wording with your agent before you respond.

Does my listing agreement set what I pay the buyer's agent?

Not anymore. The TXR 1101 revision effective June 15, 2026 took broker-to-broker compensation out of the listing agreement. Your own agent's fee is still negotiated between you and your broker.

Is a request for compensation a red flag?

No. It is a line item. Weigh it with the price, the loan type, the closing date and any other credits.

Can I offer a rate buydown instead?

Often, yes. Whether it works depends on the buyer's loan and program rules. Ask a lender to run it before you counter.

How do I know what my Waxahachie home would net?

A walk-through and a net sheet. An online estimate cannot see your condition, your payoff or the concessions in play.

What to do next

The offer that wins on paper is not always the one that nets you the most. Based on current conditions, decide your answer to the compensation line before offers come in, so you are not deciding it under a deadline.

Get your free Home Selling Score and see where your Waxahachie home stands before you list.

Steven J. Thomas is a licensed Texas real estate broker with Refind Realty DFW (TREC Broker License #0657467) and a loan officer with Envision Home Lenders (NMLS #689220). The figures above are illustrations only, not a price opinion, loan offer or legal advice. Broker compensation is negotiable and is not set by law or by any trade association. Nothing here guarantees a price, timeline or outcome. Equal Housing Opportunity. Equal Housing Lender.

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