The short answer: about 12% to 29%
In NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 88% of buyers purchased their home through an agent or broker, which means about 12% did not. A separate Clever Real Estate survey from April 2024 found 29% of buyers went without representation. The honest answer sits between those numbers, and the gap comes down to survey design.
If you landed here for one citable number, use this: roughly one in eight buyers purchases without an agent by the industry's own benchmark, and online surveys that ask about representation directly find a bigger share. This page lays out each number, where it comes from, and the sample size behind it, so you can quote the data without getting corrected in the comments.
One warning up front. The most-shared version of this statistic, that 21% of buyers bought without an agent, is a misreading of a real survey. We correct it below.
The two numbers, side by side
The National Association of REALTORS runs the long-standing benchmark. Its 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was mailed in July 2025 to 173,250 people who bought a home between July 2024 and June 2025, and 6,103 primary-residence buyers responded. In that sample, 88% purchased through an agent or broker.
Clever Real Estate asked a different crowd a different way. Its American Home Buyer Report surveyed 920 recent buyers online in April 2024 and found 29% went without representation.
- NAR 2025 Profile: 88% bought through an agent or broker, so about 12% did not. Mailed survey, transactions from July 2024 to June 2025, 6,103 primary-residence responses.
- Clever 2024: 29% went without representation. Online survey, April 2024, 920 respondents.
Why the surveys disagree
Neither survey is wrong. They measure different things in different ways, and the differences stack.
- Mode: NAR mails its survey to buyers from a year of transactions. Clever surveys buyers online. Each mode reaches a different slice of the market, and neither slice is perfectly representative.
- Sample: 6,103 responses versus 920. NAR's sample is nearly seven times larger. Its response rate is about 3.5%, though, and online panels self-select too, so neither is a census.
- Question: NAR counts buyers who purchased through an agent or broker. Clever asks about representation. Those sound identical and aren't quite, and small wording differences move survey numbers.
- Timing: Clever fielded its survey in April 2024, before the commission rule changes took effect that August. NAR's transaction window runs July 2024 through June 2025, mostly after them.
So which number should you cite?
Don't pick a winner. Cite NAR's roughly 12% as the conservative benchmark drawn from the biggest sample of completed transactions. Cite Clever's 29% as evidence the real share may run higher than the industry's own number. Cite either one with the method attached and nobody can accuse you of cherry-picking.
What you shouldn't do is average them, present one as debunking the other, or quote a number that neither survey actually reports. Which brings us to the 21%.
The 21% misquote, corrected
A stat circulates in articles and social posts: 21% of buyers bought without an agent. It usually gets attributed to Clever's 2025 home buyer survey. The survey doesn't say that. Clever's 2025 edition doesn't publish an overall without-agent share at all.
Here's what the 21% actually is. Among buyers who did skip the agent, 21% said the commission was too expensive. It's a reason stat, not a share of all buyers. The number sits right next to the words 'didn't use an agent' in the survey writeup, so it's an easy figure to lift in a hurry, and plenty of careful people have done it. But a percentage of a subgroup's motivations is not a percentage of the market.
If you need a without-agent share, the defensible options are NAR's roughly 12% or Clever's 2024 finding of 29%. If you've already published the 21% version somewhere, consider this your friendly correction memo.
Why buyers skip agents
Clever's 2025 survey asked buyers who went without an agent why they did it. The answers, in order:
- Bought from someone they already knew: 27%.
- Felt they could handle the purchase themselves: 22%.
- Thought the commission was too expensive: 21%.
- Wanted control over the process: 20%.
The 2024 answers were blunter
The 2024 edition asked its 29% the same question and got sharper answers: 32% didn't trust agents, 32% wanted control, and 30% wanted to save money.
Two motives repeat across both years: money and control. And the top 2025 reason matters for interpretation. A meaningful slice of no-agent purchases happen between people who already know each other, not on the open market.
If control is your reason, know what the seller's side still owes you. California listing agents have specific legal duties to unrepresented buyers, covered in our self-represented buyer rights guide.
41% are at least thinking about it
The consideration number is the loudest stat in this dataset. In October 2024, Clever surveyed 1,000 people planning to buy or sell in 2025. Among the buyers, 41% were at least considering going without an agent.
Considering is not doing. The distance between 41% thinking about it and the 12% to 29% actually doing it is the real story here: interest in self-representation runs well ahead of follow-through. Whether that gap closes is the number to watch in the next few editions of these surveys.
FSBO is a seller stat, not a buyer stat
For sale by owner gets mixed into this conversation constantly, and it doesn't belong. FSBO measures sellers who listed without an agent. It says nothing about buyers.
For the record: FSBO hit 5% of sales in NAR's 2025 Profile, an all-time low. And the famous price gap, a $360,000 FSBO median versus $425,000 for agent-assisted sales, comes with a big asterisk: 60% of FSBO sellers already knew their buyer. Deals between people who know each other are often priced below the open market from the start, which drags the FSBO median down regardless of what representation did or didn't contribute.
So if you're writing about buyers without agents, leave the FSBO stats out or label them clearly as seller-side numbers. Mixing the two is the second most common error on this topic, right after the 21% misquote.
The market behind the numbers
The 2025 Profile describes a market that helps explain who's buying without help. First-time buyers fell to 21% of the market, the lowest share since 1981; the norm before 2008 was around 40%. The median first-time buyer is now 40 years old, a record. The median repeat buyer is 62, and the median seller is 64.
In other words, today's buyer pool skews heavily toward older, repeat buyers, people who have been through contracts, contingencies, and escrow before. These surveys don't tell us whether that experience is driving the no-agent share, but it's the backdrop for every stat on this page.
Two Clever 2025 findings cut the other way, and a citation page should include them. Represented buyers got seller concessions more often than unrepresented buyers, 69% versus 56%. And the average buyer-agent commission was 2.67%, about $11,131 on a median transaction, which is real money but doesn't transfer to the buyer automatically when there's no agent. The savings from self-representation are negotiated, not granted.
What the numbers mean in California
California runs the same debate with bigger stakes. The statewide median existing single-family price hit a record $930,260 in May 2026, up 3.1% year over year, per the California Association of REALTORS. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the median is $1,450,000.
In Clever's February 2026 agent survey, California's average total commission was 5.47%, with 2.74% on the buyer's side. On a median home, 2.74% works out to roughly $25,489. That's the size of the line item riding on the representation question, about $25,000, and it's negotiable, not fixed.
It doesn't land in your pocket by default. Unrepresented buyers capture that value, when they capture it, as a lower purchase price or a seller credit sized to what lender rules allow. The mechanics live in our guide to negotiating a commission credit in California.
The rule changes are a big part of why this question is suddenly everywhere. Since August 17, 2024, offers of buyer-broker compensation are banned from the MLS, and buyers sign written agreements spelling out exactly what their agent gets paid. MLS policy requires that agreement before an agent tours homes with you; California's AB 2992 sets a separate legal deadline of no later than the execution of your offer.
Compensation, in NAR's own words, is not set by law and is fully negotiable. Representation went from a background cost to a visible line item, and visible costs get questioned. If you decide to go without, the process is legal and well-worn in California. Start with the complete guide to buying a home without an agent.
Methodology notes for citing this page
Every number above, with its source, field dates, and sample size. Link the original surveys when you cite; they deserve the traffic.
- NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers: mailed survey sent July 2025 to 173,250 buyers who purchased between July 2024 and June 2025; 6,103 primary-residence responses. Stats used here: 88% purchased through an agent or broker; FSBO at 5% with a $360,000 median versus $425,000 agent-assisted; 60% of FSBO sellers knew their buyer; first-time buyers at 21% of the market; median ages of 40 for first-time buyers, 62 for repeat buyers, 64 for sellers.
- Clever Real Estate, American Home Buyer Report 2024: online survey, April 2024, 920 respondents. Stats used: 29% bought without representation; their reasons were distrust of agents (32%), wanting control (32%), and saving money (30%).
- Clever Real Estate, 2025 home buyer survey: reports reasons among non-agent buyers (bought from someone known 27%, could handle it themselves 22%, commission too expensive 21%, wanted control 20%), a concessions comparison (69% of represented buyers versus 56% of unrepresented), and a 2.67% average buyer-agent commission, about $11,131 on a median transaction. It does not publish an overall share of buyers without agents.
- Clever Real Estate, 2025 housing market predictions: October 2024 survey of 1,000 people planning to buy or sell in 2025; 41% of buyers were at least considering going without an agent.
- Clever Real Estate, commission survey: February 2026, 533 agents surveyed, including 57 in California; California average total commission 5.47%, with 2.74% on the buyer's side.
- California Association of REALTORS, May 2026 sales report: record median existing single-family price of $930,260, up 3.1% year over year.
How Ohvii helps
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Questions buyers ask
What percentage of home buyers don't use an agent?
By the industry benchmark, about 12%: NAR's 2025 Profile found 88% of buyers purchased through an agent or broker. A 2024 Clever Real Estate survey of 920 buyers found 29% went without representation. The honest range is 12% to 29%, and the difference comes from survey method, sample, and question wording.
Do FSBO homes really sell for less?
NAR's 2025 medians were $360,000 for FSBO sales versus $425,000 for agent-assisted sales. But 60% of FSBO sellers already knew their buyer, and personal-network deals tend to price below the open market, which skews the comparison. FSBO is also a seller statistic, so it says nothing about buyers who purchase without an agent.
How much is the buyer-side commission on a typical California home?
Clever's February 2026 agent survey puts California's average buyer-side commission at 2.74%. On the record $930,260 statewide median single-family price, that works out to roughly $25,000. It is a negotiable cost, not a fee set by law.
Can I buy a house in California without a realtor?
Yes. No California law requires a buyer to have an agent, and the listing agent must present your offer to the seller absent a written waiver. You take on the paperwork, deadlines, and negotiation yourself, or hire professionals for specific pieces.
Do I save the commission if I buy without an agent?
Not automatically. The buyer-side commission is a negotiable cost, and the value shows up only if you negotiate a lower price or a seller credit, which lender rules cap. Worth knowing: in Clever's 2025 survey, represented buyers got seller concessions more often than unrepresented buyers, 69% versus 56%.