Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
A USDA Rural Housing Service final rule published November 9, 2026 clarifies that real estate commission fees do not count toward interested-party concession limits for USDA-guaranteed single-family loans.
Real estate commissions paid in connection with USDA-guaranteed home purchases will not count against the program’s limit on interested-party concessions under a final rule published November 9 by the Agriculture Department’s Rural Housing Service.
The change addresses a practical underwriting question that gained importance as buyer-broker compensation practices shifted following the national commission litigation settlements. The agency’s final rule, published at 91 FR 70769, clarifies that real estate commission fees are excluded from the interested-party concession limit in the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. The rule is effective on publication, November 9, 2026.
USDA’s guaranteed program helps eligible borrowers finance homes in qualifying rural and suburban areas through approved private lenders. Interested-party concessions generally involve contributions from parties with a financial interest in a transaction toward costs borne by the buyer. Treatment of a commission is consequential because counting it against a concession ceiling could constrain other allowable assistance with closing costs.
A distinction lenders must apply correctly
The rule concerns the calculation of the interested-party concession limit. It should not be read as eliminating the program’s other underwriting, documentation, property-eligibility or fee requirements. Nor does it require sellers to pay a buyer’s agent or prescribe a commission amount. Compensation remains a matter for the parties’ agreements and applicable law.
The clarification may give lenders, settlement professionals and agents a more consistent basis for reviewing contracts in which the seller or another party pays a real estate commission. It does not mean every seller-paid expense is excluded from concessions. Other contributions still require review under the program’s governing rules and lender instructions.
For borrowers, the practical effect is that an otherwise permissible commission payment need not consume the separate concession allowance. Whether a particular transaction qualifies for USDA financing still depends on income, geography, credit, repayment ability and the lender’s evaluation of the full loan file.
Implementation questions
Approved lenders and loan officers should review the final regulatory text alongside USDA’s current program handbook and any subsequent implementation guidance. Closing disclosures and purchase contracts must accurately distinguish brokerage compensation from other seller-paid charges; simply relabeling an expense does not change its substance.
The Federal Register notice is a final agency action, rather than a proposal awaiting comments. Its publication resolves the specified regulatory clarification, although individual loan files remain subject to lender and agency requirements. WRE News will monitor whether USDA issues additional examples or lender-facing guidance on applying the revised language.
