Choosing a buyers agent means handing a stranger several hundred thousand dollars of decisions, and paying them a fee on top. Most people spend more time comparing phones.
Get it right and a good buyers agent saves you far more than their fee. Get it wrong and you pay twice: once in the fee, and again in the wrong property. These are the seven questions that separate an independent, investment-focused agent from a salesperson in disguise, plus the one check you should never skip.
Why the choice matters
A buyers agent’s fee is real money. A flat-fee investment agent typically charges $15,000 to $30,000 plus GST. But the fee is not where the value, or the damage, is decided.
The property is. A well-chosen investment property that grows and rents well pays that fee back many times over. A poorly chosen one, bought in the wrong market or at the wrong price, costs you for as long as you hold it. So the real question is not “what does it cost.” It is “can I trust this person to put my strategy ahead of their own payday.” The seven questions below are how you find out.
Do they work only for buyers?
This is the first and most important question, because the title “buyers agent” is not protected the way you might assume. Some agents who call themselves buyers agents also act for sellers or developers, and take a fee from both sides of the same deal. That is a genuine conflict. They cannot get you the lowest price while being paid by the person who wants the highest.
A true buyers agent represents you and only you. They do not sell property, they do not list property, and they do not take a cent from the other side. Ask it directly: do you ever act for vendors or developers? The answer you want is a flat no.
Do they take any kickbacks?
Related, but worth its own question. Some agents earn commissions from developers, project marketers, or particular agencies for steering buyers toward their stock. If your agent is paid a kickback to put you into a specific new apartment or house-and-land package, they did not choose that property because it is the best one for you. They chose it because it pays them.
Ask: do you receive any commission, referral fee, or rebate from developers, agents, or anyone other than me? An independent agent’s only income is the fee you agreed to. That is the entire point of hiring one.
Flat fee, or a percentage?
There are two ways buyers agents charge, and the model shapes the incentive.
A percentage fee, usually 1.5% to 3% of the purchase price, means the agent earns more the more you spend. On a $500,000 purchase that is $7,500 to $15,000. On a $1,000,000 purchase it is double. Every dollar they talk you up is a dollar in their pocket, which is an awkward incentive to have sitting on your side of the table.
A flat fee is a fixed amount regardless of price. The agent is paid the same to find you a $500,000 property as a $900,000 one, so they have no reason to push you past what your strategy needs. For investors, flat fee is the model that keeps the agent aligned with you. It is the model we use at Australian Property Experts.
Investment specialists, or generalists?
Buying an owner-occupied home and building an investment portfolio are different jobs. One is about lifestyle and emotion. The other is about numbers: growth, yield, cash flow, and how a single property fits a broader plan.
An agent who does both is a generalist. An agent who only does investment lives in the data every day. If you are building a portfolio, ask how much of their work is investment versus owner-occupied, and how many investment properties they have actually bought. Experience in the exact job you are hiring for counts for more than a polished website.
How do they pick where to buy?
Ask an agent how they choose a market and a property, then listen for whether the answer is data or vibe.
The answer you do not want is a hotspot list, a suburb that was on the news, or “this is where everyone’s buying right now.” The answer you do want is a repeatable process: how they weigh growth drivers, yield, supply, vacancy, and affordability, and how they screen a property once they are in the right market. A good agent can explain their method, not just their picks. If they lean on affordable markets over blue-chip guesswork, even better, because that is where the numbers usually stack up.
Do they buy across the country?
The best investment opportunity at any given moment is rarely in your own city. Markets around Australia move in different cycles, and an agent who works one city can only ever offer you what that city has today.
Ask whether they buy nationwide, and how they operate remotely: inspections, due diligence, and negotiation in markets they may be hundreds of kilometres from. For investors, buying interstate is often where the best numbers sit, so an agent’s reach directly shapes the quality of what they can find you.
Can they show real results?
Anyone can say they get good results. Ask to see them. Real case studies with real numbers: what they paid, what it was worth, what it rents for, and how it has performed since. Not testimonials about how lovely they were to deal with, but outcomes.
Be wary of an agent who cannot or will not show you specifics. A track record you can check is one of the few things in this industry that cannot be faked. Our client case studies are the kind of detail you should expect to see.
The licence check you can’t skip
This one is non-negotiable and takes two minutes. In every state, a buyers agent must hold a current real estate licence with the state authority. In NSW, for example, that means a full Class 1 licence to run a buyers agency. The terminology varies, buyers agent in some states, buyers advocate in others, but the licence requirement does not.
Check their licence on the relevant state register before you sign anything. Membership of an industry body such as REBAA, the Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia, is a further signal. Its members must hold a valid licence, carry professional indemnity insurance, have at least two years’ experience, and work exclusively for buyers with no developer or agent incentives.
Making your shortlist
You are not choosing a personality. You are choosing whose incentives sit on your side of the table.
The agent you want works only for buyers, takes no kickbacks, charges a flat fee, specialises in investment, follows a data-led process, buys where the numbers are best rather than where they happen to be based, and can prove it with real results. Ask the seven questions, check the licence, and the choice usually makes itself.
If you are still deciding whether to use a buyers agent at all, start with is a buyers agent worth it and what one actually costs.
Sources
- Buyers agent licensing requirements and mutual recognition in Australia
- REBAA: what accreditation and buyers-only representation require
- Buyers agent fees: flat fee vs percentage models
This is general information only and not financial advice. Speak to a qualified professional before making investment decisions.
If you want a flat-fee, investment-only buyers agent working across Australia, book a free discovery call.
