Buying: our fee and your credit

Buying a home

Draft: pending attorney review of the buyer credit

We take our fee. The rest is yours.

Our fee is 1.5% of the purchase price, minimum $8,000, maximum $25,000, Hawaii general excise tax included. It is written into your buyer agreement, which you sign before you tour a home.

• If the seller offers more than our fee, every dollar above it is credited to you at closing.
• If the seller offers less than our fee, on homes of $400,000 or more, we cover the difference. Your offer will ask the seller to pay our fee.
• Under $400,000, you pay any difference at closing. You will know the exact amount before you make an offer.
• If your purchase does not close, and it is not because you broke the purchase contract, you owe us nothing.

Credits are paid at closing through escrow and shown on your closing statement. Your lender must approve them; lenders usually limit credits to closing costs and prepaid items. Fees are negotiable. Credits are not paid for referrals. We show you every home that fits your needs, whatever the seller offers.

What you pay, depending on the seller's offer

Since August 2024, sellers can't post offers to buyer's brokerages in the MLS. A seller may still offer to pay all, part or none of our fee, and your offer will ask for it.

How it works when you make an offer

• Know before you offer. We find out what the seller is offering and show you your credit, or for homes under $400,000, any amount you would pay.
• Your offer asks the seller to pay our fee. The seller can accept, counter or decline, like any other term.
• Check with your lender early. Ask whether your loan allows the seller to pay our fee, and how much of any credit can go toward your closing costs.
• If your credit is more than your lender allows, we look at other options with you before you offer, such as using it to lower your interest rate or asking the seller for a lower price instead.
• Under $400,000, plan your cash. Count any possible difference as part of your closing costs. VA buyers generally cannot finance a buyer-broker fee they pay themselves.

Next step: Planning to tour homes? We go over the buyer agreement and your numbers first. Request a call.

Buying a newly built home

Draft: pending attorney review of the buyer credit

Half the builder's fee goes to you.

Many builders pay a fee to the buyer's brokerage. Before your first visit to a project, we confirm that builder's published fee in writing and put a specific rate for that project in your buyer agreement. That rate is the most Aloha American Realty, Inc. can receive for your purchase, from any source. We then credit you 50% of the fee the builder pays us, at closing through escrow, as far as your lender allows.

• You sign a written buyer agreement, with that project's rate, before your first visit to the project.
• We attend your first visit and register you with the builder.
• Your lender must approve the credit, which usually goes toward your closing costs, not cash to you.
• If your credit is more than your lender allows, we look at other options with you, such as using it to lower your interest rate.
• If a builder pays no fee, we agree on a fee with you in writing before your first visit.
• We show you every project that fits your needs, whatever the builder pays.

The credit is not paid for referrals. Ask a tax professional how a credit affects you.

One side only

We represent one side only, the buyer or the seller, never both in the same sale. If you want to buy a home we have listed, we will refer you to another brokerage.

Questions?

Commissions are easier to understand with your own numbers in front of you.

Next step: Contact Marcus Suzuki (R), Aloha American Realty, Inc. or request a call.

Official links and sources

• HiCentral MLS: NAR settlement
• HiCentral MLS Rules and Regulations (July 20, 2026)
• NAR: consumer guide to written buyer agreements
• NAR: what the settlement means for home buyers and sellers
• Hawaii Department of Taxation: general excise tax
• Hawaii Department of Taxation: county surcharge and pass-on rates
• Federal Reserve Board: "Commissions and Omissions" (FEDS Notes, May 12, 2025)
• AccountTECH: commission rates after the NAR settlement
• Redfin: buyer's agent commissions, Q3 2025 (December 8, 2025)

Marcus Suzuki (R) is a real estate broker. This page is general information about buyer fees and credits and is not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed: [date to be set at launch].