Economy

We just bought our first house and the way our realtor explained it was something like this:

Yes, the new law says the buyer pays the buyer's realtor fees (typically around 3% of the purchase price). Seller's think they're getting more money because, "hey! I don't have to pay both my realtor and the buyer's agent". But the law doesn't say the buyer must pay - it's still negotiable. And if the seller won't pay the buyer's fee, nobody will show their house to potential buyers.

I literally work in the industry. There is no recently passed law.

There is a recent lawsuit settlement that only applies to members of NAR which is not all agents in the United States but instead only members of a certain trade group.

Stop talking out of your ass.

Edit: NAR = National Association of Realtors just in case that was also confusing for you.

And just to be extra clear I’ve spent the last few months working with different multiple listing services (both run my NAR members and not) to ensure they are in compliance with the settlement or that they are not open to the same liability that lead to the NAR settlement. I am as much of an expert in this area as you are going to find