No, sellers are not required to do anything, let alone pay commission to a buyer’s agent. However, if sellers wish to list their home in the MLS, then they will need to work with a listing agent who will be required to offer some form of compensation to buy side agents in the MLS. — Sellers may be tempted to offer less than market rate buy side commissions, but this will only hurt their chances of selling as buyers’ agents regularly screen listings based on commission rates.