While buyers agents have been around for decades in Australia, their prominence has risen dramatically in the past 10 years.
Yet, we’re still often asked what a buyers agent does and who benefits most from our skills.
Well, here’s an answer to some of those burning questions, and they explain why it’s crucial to have a buying specialist on your side.
What is a buyers agent?
A buyers agent represents clients who want to buy a property. A buyers agent is tasked with sourcing and securing property that meets their client’s needs for the best possible price and contract conditions.
A buyers agent is engaged and paid by the buyer. We have an agreement with them to represent their interests first and foremost in a property transaction.
Buyers agents are also exclusive, which means they don’t accept any form of renumeration from any other party. That means no cashbacks or other benefits from developers, marketeers, or a selling agent.
In fact, in our business, our exclusivity extends to our client base too. We won’t take on two buyer clients seeking the same type of property and location at the same point in time. Our role is to help clients pay the lowest possible price, not build competition for a listing.
What are the benefits of using a buyers agent?
There are several advantages to using buyers agents.
Time saving
The fact is that sourcing, researching, negotiating and securing a home takes many hours.
This is all time you could spend doing the things you like with the people you love. A buyers agent frees up this precious time by taking on the heavy lifting of the property process.
Networks
We spend years building our networks among the industry – particularly with sales agents. This allows us access to exceptional properties for our clients well before they’re marketed to the wider public. Why? Because our agent network knows that if we’re involved, there’s a serious potential buyer on hand. Selling agents want to deal with buyers who are committed, organised and ready to act. That’s why they love dealing with a buyers agent.
To save money
Buyer’s agents understand property value in depth. We work daily in the field and can quickly spot a well-priced listing.
Buyers agents also comprehensively analyse the value of any property that makes the cut. We can then proceed with confidence, knowing our client will never pay too much.
Also, because time is money, we are a financially efficient way to buy property. You can use those saved hours I mentioned earlier working in your own speciality field. Why waste your billable hours on looking for a home?
We save our clients’ money through advanced negotiation skills too. We’ll draw on all our insider knowledge about the market and the agents we deal with to minimise the price and ensure contract conditions are favourable.
For our overseas and intestate clients, the benefits are magnified. The sheer logistical scale and expense of flying to Brisbane and inspecting multiple open homes would be head spinning. Instead, a buyers agent can represent you on the ground, and keep your involvement to those moments when important decisions need to be made.
Saves your sanity
Sourcing and securing a home is exhausting if it’s not what you normally do as a profession.
Most purchasers find their property hunt dragging out for weeks or months. Its stressful and frustrating. You’re bringing the family to multiple inspections, and putting off other engagements to attend open homes or make calls – all things that build resentment and stress in the family unit.
Worse still, most buyers ultimately make a less-than-excellent buying decision purely because of mental exhaustion and stress. They choose to simply settle out of frustration and may well pay too much for a less than ideal home in the end.
Who uses a buyers agent?
Anyone can use a buyers agent to help them get the best outcome, but we do see a few particular groups well represented, such as :
- Busy professionals – These people recognise the value of having a specialist take care of the buying process.
- Non-local buyers – The tyranny of distance means out-of-towners can have a local professional represent their interests. We have seen an astounding uptick in expat and interstate client activity in the past few years.
- Those seeking more options – Even local buyers don’t get to see every potential purchase. Our networks mean these purchasers can have access to more options than those on the listing portals.
- Buyers uncertain of value – These clients aren’t sure what properties are worth and want to have a buyers agent guide them on how much to pay.
- Clients who don’t like negotiating/bidding – Many of our clients don’t enjoy the haggle and hustle. This is where we thrive by taking on the challenge of interacting with agents and sellers, and securing a great deal.
- Those needing to buy sooner – We are putting a fulltime effort into securing a property for our clients, so you can lock down your home with minimal wasted time. On average we buy a home in around 42 days at the present.
That said, we work with everyone including first homebuyers, second homebuyers, upgraders and downsizers, expats, interstate parties, developers… you name it.
So, if you want to buy with minimum risk and maximum outcome, buyers agents simply make sense. They’re the professionals to have in your corner when it comes to securing a great deal.