2026 Real Estate Study Guide: NAR Settlement & Buyer Representation
Welcome to the definitive curriculum for the 2026 real estate licensing exam updates. Organized across 4 core chapters and 16 modular lessons, each section breaks down the mandatory pre-touring agreement rules, MLS compensation prohibitions, seller concession financing caps, and federal antitrust compliance standards with explicit exam trap callouts, technical summaries, and interactive knowledge checkpoints.
Curriculum Roadmap
Mandatory Written Buyer Agreements & Touring Rules
Statutory execution timing prior to touring residential property, drafting objectively ascertainable compensation terms, enforcing broker compensation caps, and negotiating limited-scope showing agreements.
MLS Compensation Prohibition & Off-MLS Negotiations
Permanent removal of cooperative compensation fields from MLS systems, prohibition on circumvention through remarks or links, permissible off-MLS bilateral negotiations, and website marketing limits.
Seller Concessions, Financing & Closing Credits
Permissible MLS concession advertising, conventional (Fannie/Freddie) IPC exclusions, FHA and VA mortgage underwriting protocols, appraisal adjustments, and TRID disclosure compliance.
Agency Disclosures, Open Houses, Dual Agency & Antitrust
Open house host exemptions, unrepresented buyer protocols, dual agency state prohibitions, Sherman Antitrust Act Section 1 enforcement, and broker steering prevention.