Starting January 1, 2027, a listing firm can no longer pay the buyer's firm on Wisconsin homes with one to four units. The buyer owes their agent under the buyer agency agreement, and a Madison seller can agree to cover some or all of it, but only in writing in the accepted offer.
By Cait Berry | October 30, 2026
If you are planning to buy or sell a home in Madison in the next six months, this is the change that will touch your paperwork the most, and it is the one I am hearing the fewest people talk about outside of real estate offices.
Wisconsin passed 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 last December. Most of it takes effect January 1, 2027, and the revised state forms that carry it out are already in use. Here is what is actually changing, what it means for your bottom line, and the decisions I am walking my buyers and sellers through right now.
What changes on January 1, 2027
For a long time, the most common setup in Dane County looked like this: the seller agreed to pay a commission to the listing firm, and the listing firm shared part of it with the firm that brought the buyer. Most buyers never wrote a check to their own agent directly.
That firm-to-firm handoff is what goes away. According to the Wisconsin REALTORS Association, beginning January 1, 2027, "a firm may no longer accept compensation from another firm for brokerage services in a transaction involving residential property containing one to four dwelling units." Referral fees are still allowed.
In other words, the listing firm cannot pay your buyer's agent anymore. That covers single-family homes and duplexes up to fourplexes, which is most of what my clients buy and sell in Madison, Middleton, Verona and Sun Prairie.
What does not go away is the seller's ability to help. A seller can still agree to pay the firm working with the buyer. The difference is where that agreement lives: it has to be written into the fully executed offer to purchase, signed by both the buyer and the seller.
The three forms that carry the change
Wisconsin uses state-approved forms for nearly every residential sale, and three of them were revised for this law. The new versions were available for optional use on October 1, 2026, and become mandatory January 1, 2027.
- WB-36 Buyer Agency Agreement: You and your buyer's agent agree on their compensation here. The form requires a specific amount or rate, like a percentage or a flat fee. It cannot say "whatever the seller is offering."
- WB-11 Residential Offer to Purchase: The revised offer has a section where the buyer can ask the seller to pay some or all of the buyer's firm's compensation at closing.
- WB-1 Residential Listing Contract: The seller agrees to what they will pay their own listing firm, and decides whether the listing firm can tell buyers' agents that the seller is open to paying buyer-side compensation.
If you want a refresher on why buyer representation matters in the first place, I wrote about buyer agency in Madison earlier this year.
What this means if you are buying in Madison
The biggest shift for buyers is that your agent's compensation becomes part of your offer strategy, not something handled behind the scenes.
Here is how it works in practice. You sign a WB-36 with your agent that sets their fee. When you find the home, your offer can ask the seller to pay some or all of that fee at closing. Whatever the seller agrees to pay is credited against what you owe. The WB-36 spells this out: the buyer pays the firm's compensation, reduced by any amount the firm receives from the seller.
If the seller says no, or agrees to only part of it, you are responsible for the rest. That is the piece I want every buyer to understand before they start touring.
A few things I talk through with my buyers before we write an offer:
- How much cash you need at closing. If there is a chance you will cover part of your agent's fee, that changes your cash-to-close number, and it should be part of your budget from day one. Our post on what owning a Madison home costs each month is a good starting point for the bigger picture.
- How the request fits the rest of your offer. Asking the seller to pay your agent's fee is one more term the seller weighs, alongside price, contingencies, closing date and any repair credits. On a home with several offers, a seller may compare net proceeds, not just price. On a home that has been sitting, there is often more room.
- What your lender allows. How seller-paid compensation interacts with your loan program, and with any other seller credits you are asking for, is a question for your lender before you write the offer. Do not assume it works the same way for every loan.
This fall, more Madison homes are sitting longer and more sellers are open to negotiating on price, repairs and credits. That gives buyers more room to ask. It does not guarantee a yes, which is why the math needs to be done ahead of time.
If you are relocating to Madison
I work with a lot of families moving here from other states, and this is where it gets confusing. The rules you knew in Illinois, Minnesota or California may be different from Wisconsin's. If you are planning a move for 2027, plan on a conversation about compensation before your first showing trip, not after.
What this means if you are selling in Dane County
For sellers, the question shifts from "what commission do I pay?" to two separate decisions.
First, what you pay your listing firm. That is negotiated in your WB-1, the same as always.
Second, whether you are willing to pay toward the buyer's agent, and how you want to handle it. You have real choices here:
- Let it be known up front that you are open to paying buyer-side compensation, so buyers' agents can factor it into their clients' offers
- Stay quiet and decide offer by offer, based on what each buyer asks for in the WB-11
- Decline to pay any buyer-side compensation
Each approach has trade-offs. The WRA makes an important point here: disclosing that you are open to paying compensation is not the same as agreeing to pay it. Nothing is owed until it is written into an accepted offer.
What I tell my sellers is to think about this the same way they would think about a closing cost credit. A buyer who has to bring their agent's fee to closing has less cash for the down payment, and some buyers will offer less or skip the home entirely. A buyer who gets help from the seller may be able to offer more. The right answer depends on your price point, your neighborhood, how quickly homes like yours are selling and how much you need to net.
That last part matters. Your net proceeds change depending on what you agree to, so it is worth running the numbers before you list. Our breakdown of closing costs for sellers in Madison covers the other line items, like the Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Fee and property tax prorations, that come out of the same check.
If you are listing now and closing in 2027
If your home goes on the market this fall and the sale will not close until after January 1, ask your agent how your listing contract and any offer will handle the change. The sources I have reviewed do not spell out how every transition situation is treated, and this is not the place to guess. When the answer depends on how a contract is written, a Wisconsin real estate attorney is the right person to confirm it.
The other piece of Act 69 sellers should know about
The same law also changes how listings are marketed. Starting January 1, 2027, a listing firm must publicly market a one-to-four-unit home within one business day of the listing agreement starting, unless the seller opts out in writing on a new state form, the WB-55 Public Marketing Opt-Out Agreement.
Private or "coming soon" style marketing is not banned. It just has to be a documented choice, made with an understanding of what you may give up in exposure and competition. If you have thought about a quiet sale in Maple Bluff, Shorewood Hills or on the lake, this is a conversation to have before you sign a listing contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do buyers in Wisconsin have to pay their own agent starting in 2027?
The buyer owes their agent whatever their WB-36 Buyer Agency Agreement says. A seller can agree to pay some or all of it in the accepted offer, which reduces what the buyer owes. If the seller does not agree, the buyer is responsible for the balance.
Can a Madison seller still pay the buyer's agent?
Yes. A seller can agree to pay the firm working with the buyer, but the agreement has to be written into the fully executed offer to purchase and signed by the buyer and seller. What changes is that the listing firm can no longer pay the buyer's firm directly.
Does the new Wisconsin law apply to condos?
The compensation and public marketing rules are written for residential property with one to four dwelling units. Condo sales in Wisconsin use their own state forms (the WB-4 listing contract and WB-14 offer), and those were revised in this same update, so ask your agent how the new terms show up in a condo purchase or sale.
When do the new Wisconsin offer and listing forms become mandatory?
The revised WB-1, WB-11 and WB-36 were available for optional use beginning October 1, 2026, and become mandatory January 1, 2027. Some Madison agents are already using them this fall.
Can a buyer's agent be paid more than the buyer agency agreement says?
No. The revised WB-36 says the buyer's firm cannot receive compensation from any source that exceeds the amount or rate in the agreement. If the seller pays part, it is credited against what the buyer owes, not added on top.
Let's talk through your numbers
The new rules do not have to be stressful. They just mean the conversation about compensation happens earlier and more openly, and that you go into an offer or a listing knowing exactly what you will pay or net.
If you are planning to buy or sell in Madison or anywhere in Dane County in 2027, grab 15 minutes on my calendar and I will walk you through how this applies to your situation. You can also call or text me at 608-576-1125.
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About Cait Berry
Cait Berry is the founder and team lead of Insiders Realty with REAL Broker, LLC, serving buyers and sellers across Dane County. A sixth-generation Madisonian and full-time agent since 2012, she helps relocating families, move-up buyers and sellers, and first-time buyers make confident moves in the Madison market. Cait also coaches agents as a team leader with Tom Ferry International.
This post is general information about a new Wisconsin law, not legal advice. Your contract terms, your loan and your timeline all affect how it applies to you.
