It is one of the most common worries sellers raise before listing with a 1% commission agent in Ontario: will buyer agents simply skip showing my home because the commission is lower? It is a fair question, and the honest answer has two parts — what the law says, and what actually happens on MLS.
WHAT ONTARIO LAW ACTUALLY SAYS
Under Ontario’s Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA), a buyer’s agent has a legal duty to act in their client’s best interest. Steering a buyer away from a property that matches what they are looking for, specifically because the commission is lower, is a breach of that duty. It is not a grey area — RECO treats it as a professional conduct issue.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS ON MLS
In practice, buyers today do most of their own searching on Realtor.ca and HouseSigma before ever calling an agent. By the time they reach out, they already know which homes they want to see — the commission split on the listing side is invisible to them and usually irrelevant to the agent showing it, since buyer agent commission is set by the seller separately and does not change based on what the listing brokerage charges.
The part sellers often miss
The 1% applies to your listing commission only. The buyer agent commission you offer on MLS, typically 2% to 2.5%, is set by you and stays competitive with every other listing in your area — it has nothing to do with your own listing fee.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE STILL WORRIED
- Offer a standard, competitive buyer agent commission on MLS — this is the number buyer agents actually see
- Ask your listing agent for showing activity reports, not just offer counts
- Price the home correctly — pricing affects showings far more than commission structure does
- Confirm your brokerage is RECO-licensed and lists through full MLS, not a limited-exposure service
Is it legal for a buyer agent to avoid showing a lower-commission listing?
No. Under TRESA, buyer agents owe their clients a duty to act in their best interest, which includes showing homes that match the buyer's stated criteria regardless of the listing-side commission structure.
Does the buyer agent commission change if I list for 1%?
No. The 1% applies only to your listing brokerage fee. You separately set the buyer agent commission offered on MLS, typically 2% to 2.5%, independent of your own listing rate.