Is a buyer’s agent worth it? It is one of the questions I hear most from people starting out, and I have a view. I have never used one, and when I was asked to add one to MRD I said no, because I will not sell what I do not believe in. That is my view, not a verdict on every buyer’s agent. Some add real value. You pay for it, and the really good ones are few.
Two people paid on one sale
Start with who pays whom. The seller pays the selling agent’s commission from the sale price. If you hire a buyer’s agent, you pay them too, as a fixed fee or a share of the price. So on one sale two agents are paid, and one of them by you.
In a hot market
When buyers outnumber homes, a buyer’s agent can get you in the door and help you compete. They cannot make a rising market cheaper. Some point to favour with listing agents, a look before a home is advertised. That is not how it should work. The listing agent acts for the seller, and in Queensland the law requires that agent to negotiate the best possible price for the seller, not for you.
In a quiet market
When homes outnumber buyers, the upper hand moves to you. Sellers and their agents want a deal done. With your borrowing settled, your numbers in hand and a clear plan, you could secure the deal yourself.
What you are paying for
Strip it back and a buyer’s agent sells two things: finding, and confidence. Finding can be learned. Confidence comes from knowing your own position: what you can borrow, what a property will cost you each week, and whether it fits the plan for the next one. Without that, even the right property can feel like a guess.
The other way: a mentor beside you
Mentoring gives you the clarity and confidence to do it yourself, or to have me alongside while you do. It can be a few tips on one property, or months of searching together, running cash flows and comparing one property against another. The decision, and the negotiating, stay yours. Every engagement is quoted in writing before any work starts, and you choose how much help you want. If you have already found a property, a property check runs the numbers on it against your own.
Questions to ask any buyer’s agent
- How are you paid, and is the fee fixed or a share of the price?
- Do you take any payment from sellers, developers or selling agents, and will you put the answer in writing?
- Can I ring past clients you did not choose for me?
- What happens to the fee if we do not find a property?
- Who negotiates, how, and who decides the final figure?
Weighing a buyer’s agent against doing it yourself? The first conversation with me costs nothing.
Nicholas Lockhart
General information only, drawn from Nicholas’s experience in real estate since 1997. It is education, not personal or financial advice. This article reflects the law as at 13 October 2026.
Source: Queensland Government, Appointing a real estate sales agent (updated 19 July 2024).