The Seller Does
The Seller has generally signed a listing agreement with his agent specifying a certain fee to be paid, and many times it has provisions for splitting that fee with the agent who sells the property, regardless of subagency or buyer agency.

 

The Buyer Does
The Buyer can pay his agent a commission as set out in their written agreement.  If this is the case, it would be inappropriate for the buyer?s agent to accept any portion of the fee
paid by the seller.

 

Indirectly, The Buyer Does
Even though the seller pays the commission out of his proceeds, it has been argued that the buyer paid the commission as part of the overall purchase price. This assumes the buyer could have bought the home for less had it not been listed.