Are Homebuyer Rebates Legal in Texas? Yes.

That's not us interpreting the rule generously. That's TREC's own published answer to the exact question a skeptical buyer asks first. Buyer-agent commission rebates have been part of Texas real estate practice for years, and TREC addresses them directly in its public guidance rather than leaving the answer to agents to explain themselves.

What Actually Has to Happen for a Rebate to Be Compliant

TREC's guidance lays out real conditions, and we build our process around every one of them:

• Consent. The party we represent has to consent to the rebate before it's paid. On a new-construction purchase, that means the builder's and/or seller's consent, documented before closing.
• Disclosure. Any advertising of a rebate has to disclose that it's subject to that consent, and disclose any restrictions attached to it. That's why every rebate figure on this site says "estimated" and "subject to lender approval."
• Broker authorization. A sales agent needs their sponsoring broker's authorization to offer a rebate. This program runs under EXL Realty Group, a licensed Texas real estate brokerage (TREC Broker License #9015220).
• Lender review. A buyer's lender may place its own restrictions on how a closing credit is applied, which is why we work with your lender early rather than promising a specific use for the credit.

Why New Construction Works a Little Differently

In a Texas new-construction purchase the builder, not a private seller, pays the buyer-agent commission, typically 2.5% to 3% of the price, from its sales and marketing budget. A homebuyer rebate is legal on a new build under the same TREC rules as a resale; the one practical difference is that the consent comes from the builder rather than an individual homeowner. That is why the agent must be registered before the first model-home visit: most Texas production builders will not pay an outside agent, and so cannot fund a rebate, if the buyer first visited unrepresented. Texas Homes Rebates returns 2.5% of the purchase price as an estimated closing credit and keeps a flat 0.5% fee, subject to lender approval.

It's Not Just a Texas Position

The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has taken a public position that commission rebates are pro-competitive, and has previously intervened when states tried to prohibit them, on the reasoning that a rebate ban forces buyers to pay more for representation than they would in a competitive market. Texas has never had that kind of ban. Read the DOJ's position directly: Consumers Save Thousands in Commissions.

Frequently Asked Questions