What Is a Typical Real Estate Referral Fee in 2026?

The standard answer is 25%. That number is a convention, not a law, and it applies mainly to one agent referring a client to another. Once a platform or network is doing the lead generation, published fees climb into the 30 to 40% range. This guide lays out the published rates, the math for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and the terms that matter more than the headline percentage.

What percentage do agents usually pay for a referral?

The Close’s 2026 guide to referral fees (April 2026) says standard fees are “typically around 25% of the receiving agent’s commission.” The same guide puts the range at 20 to 35%.

The 25% figure is most common between two agents who know each other. One agent has a client moving to another market. The other agent does the work and shares a quarter of the side.

Higher fees usually reflect more work by the referring party. A platform that buys advertising, screens the consumer and calls them before the introduction tends to charge more.

What do the national referral platforms charge?

Here are the fees each program publishes, or that a third party has reported from the program’s own materials.

Program	Referral fee	Tail / notes	Source
Agent-to-agent (convention)	About 25%, range 20 to 35%	Set by agreement	The Close, Apr 2026
HomeLight	33% of agent-side commission, before splits	3-year tail, repeat deals included	HomeLight Help Center
UpNest	30%, before broker split	Paid at closing	Clever, Jun 2025
Agent Pronto	25 to 35%	2-year tail, free to join	Clever, Jun 2026
Realtor.com ReadyConnect Concierge	Buyers 28 to 40%, sellers 40%	Realtor.com does not publish its table	Clever, Sep 2026
Zillow Preferred	15 to 40% by ZIP and price, sellers 40%	Invite-only, no upfront cost	Clever, Sep 2026

Two of those rows rely on Clever’s reporting because Zillow and Realtor.com do not publish fee schedules. Clever also runs its own agent referral program, so read its numbers with that in mind.

How much is a referral fee in dollars in PA, NJ and DE?

The math depends on the sale price and the receiving agent’s commission rate. Redfin reported an average buyer’s agent commission of 2.42% in Q3 2025, as covered by MortgagePoint (December 2025). We use it below as an illustrative side.

For median prices we use Pennsylvania’s $340,000 (PA Realtors via CPBJ, June 2026), New Jersey’s $505,000 (NJ Realtors via ROI-NJ, February 2026) and Delaware’s $401,488 (Redfin, August 2026).

State	Median price	Side at 2.42%	Fee at 25%	Fee at 33%	Fee at 40%
Pennsylvania	$340,000	$8,228	$2,057	$2,715	$3,291
New Jersey	$505,000	$12,221	$3,055	$4,033	$4,888
Delaware	$401,488	$9,716	$2,429	$3,206	$3,886

Those fees come off the top. Your brokerage split then applies to what remains, unless your agreement says otherwise.

On a Pennsylvania median sale, the gap between a 25% fee and a 40% fee is about $1,234. Across ten referred closings a year, that difference is roughly $12,000.

Is the fee taken before or after the brokerage split?

Most platforms take the fee before your split. HomeLight’s help center says its fee is measured on the agent’s side when the broker receives it, before any splits. Clever reports the same for UpNest.

Here is what that means for a Pennsylvania median buyer side with a 70/30 agent split:

Step	25% referral	33% referral
Agent-side commission	$8,228	$8,228
Referral fee	minus $2,057	minus $2,715
Remaining to brokerage	$6,171	$5,513
Agent’s 70%	$4,320	$3,859

Your split may differ. The order of operations is what matters, so confirm it before you sign.

Who is allowed to receive a referral fee?

In Pennsylvania, only a licensee can be paid for a referral. The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (October 2023) says “a license is required to collect any sort of fee for the referral.”

PAR’s guidance covers common traps. A gift card to a past client for a referral is not allowed. A payment to an estate attorney is not allowed. Renaming the payment does not change the answer.

PAR also says to put referral agreements in writing and to “send any fees through your brokerage.” PAR offers its Referral Agreement, Form REF, for this purpose. We cover the Pennsylvania details, including out-of-state agents, in our Pennsylvania referral fee rules guide.

New Jersey and Delaware have their own licensing statutes. Confirm the rules with your broker of record or your state association before paying or accepting a fee across state lines.

What terms matter more than the percentage?

The headline rate is only one of five terms that decide what a referral actually costs you.

• Fee base. Is the fee a percentage of your side, the total commission, or your net after split?
• Tail. How long does the fee follow the client? HomeLight’s tail is three years. Agent Pronto’s is two.
• Repeat transactions. Does the fee apply if the same client buys and sells, or buys again?
• Exclusivity. Was the client introduced only to you, or to several agents at once?
• Payment path. Is the fee paid broker to broker at closing under a written agreement?

A 25% fee on a lead shared with four other agents can cost more in time than a 33% fee on an exclusive, warm introduction. Compare the whole agreement, not just the number.

Did the NAR settlement change referral fees?

The 2024 NAR settlement did not directly address agent-to-agent referral fees. It did change how buyer-side compensation is set, since it is now negotiated in a written buyer agreement rather than offered on the MLS.

Because a referral fee is usually a percentage of the receiving agent’s side, the buyer agreement now drives the fee base. Write the fee base clearly into every referral agreement so there is no question at closing.

How does Casventa approach referral fees?

Casventa is a licensed Pennsylvania brokerage. Through Lead Match, we introduce a pre-qualified buyer or seller to one agent, and our broker-to-broker referral fee is paid out of commission at closing under a written agreement. If the deal does not close, no fee is owed. Use the cost calculator to compare that structure against your current sources with your own numbers.