New TREC Contract Forms Are Now Mandatory: What San Antonio Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

If you are buying or selling a home anywhere in San Antonio, Helotes, Schertz, New Braunfels, Boerne, or any other corner of the greater metro area right now, the contracts your agent uses changed as of Friday, January 3, 2025. The Texas Real Estate Commission—TREC—made its revised standard forms mandatory that day, and every licensed real estate agent in Texas is now required to use them.

The updated forms affect some of the most commonly used documents in a real estate transaction. The One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), known as TREC 20-18, is the form used in the vast majority of existing home sales across San Antonio—from a starter home in Converse to a move-up property in Stone Oak or a patio home in the Leon Valley area. Also updated are the new home contracts, the Third Party Financing Addendum (TREC 40-11), and the Amendment to Contract (TREC 39-10). Alongside the revisions, TREC introduced a brand-new Addendum for Section 1031 Exchange (TREC 60-0) for investors who need that exchange structure.

For most buyers and sellers, the most meaningful change is in Paragraph 12A of the residential sales contract. The revised language makes two things clear. First, each party is responsible for paying the brokerage fees that party has agreed to pay—full stop. Second, the contract now gives sellers a specific, defined way to contribute toward a buyer's brokerage fees if they choose to do so.

Why does this matter? Over the past year, there has been significant national conversation about how buyer's agent compensation works and who pays it. The new Paragraph 12A brings the Texas contract form in line with the current landscape. It puts the question of buyer agent compensation on the table as a negotiable item, written plainly into the contract itself, rather than leaving it as something handled only behind the scenes.

If you are a buyer shopping for a home in Alamo Ranch, the Medical Center corridor, or a neighborhood served by North East ISD or Northside ISD, here is the practical takeaway: before you tour homes, you should already have a signed buyer representation agreement with your agent that spells out what compensation your agent expects. That agreement sets what you have committed to pay your agent. Once you are under contract, if the seller agrees to contribute toward those fees, the revised Paragraph 12A is where that agreement lives in writing. Nothing about this eliminates your ability to negotiate—it simply makes the negotiation more transparent.

If you are a seller listing a home in Helotes, Cibolo, Universal City, or anywhere else in the San Antonio market, the update means you can make a clear, documented offer to cover some or all of your buyer's agent fees as part of your negotiating strategy. In a market where buyers are watching every dollar, that kind of concession can make your listing stand out. Your agent can help you think through whether offering that contribution makes sense given current conditions in your specific neighborhood and price range.

For investors doing a 1031 exchange—a strategy sometimes used when selling income properties in areas like the South Side, downtown or along the 410 corridor—the new TREC 60-0 addendum gives you a standardized form designed specifically for that transaction type. Previously, agents had to work around the absence of a dedicated TREC form. Having one now simplifies the paperwork and provides clearer documentation for all parties.

The updated Third Party Financing Addendum and the Amendment to Contract also carry revisions, and your agent will walk you through anything in those documents that is relevant to your specific deal. The amendment form is used frequently whenever buyers and sellers agree to change terms after the original contract is signed—things like adjusting the closing date, modifying the sales price after an inspection, or altering what items convey with the property.

If you are a renter in San Antonio right now, these particular forms do not directly affect a lease transaction. TREC's residential lease forms are separate. However, if you are considering a transition from renting to buying in 2025—perhaps you are in an apartment in the Wurzbach Parkway area or renting in a suburb like Live Oak—knowing that the purchase contracts have been updated is useful background as you start that process.

The bottom line is this: real estate contracts exist to protect everyone at the table. When TREC updates its forms, the intent is to bring greater clarity and fairness to transactions across Texas. As of this weekend, those updated forms are the law of the land for licensed agents here in San Antonio. Working with an experienced, knowledgeable agent ensures you understand exactly what you are signing—and what every line of that contract means for your money and your move.