How to Choose a Buyers Agent. Ten Questions to Ask Before You Engage

Australia has hundreds of buyers agents. Some are former selling agents who switched sides. Some are property investors who turned their personal process into a service. Some are large boutiques with a structured team. Some are sole operators with twenty years on the same patch.

The right choice depends on the buyer's brief. A boutique specialising in Sydney prestige is the wrong fit for a first home buyer in regional Tasmania. A high-volume investor operator is the wrong fit for a family searching for an established home in Hawthorn.

This article gives buyers ten practical questions to take into shortlist interviews. The answers help separate the fit from the noise.

1. Are You Licensed in the State Where I Am Buying

Every Australian state and territory requires a real estate licence to act as a buyers agent. The licensing body differs by state. Fair Trading NSW, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Office of Fair Trading QLD, Consumer Protection WA, Consumer and Business Services SA, Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading TAS, Access Canberra ACT and Consumer Affairs NT.

Ask for the licence number and the state of issue. Verify it online with the relevant state register before signing. If the buyer is purchasing in a different state to where the agent is licensed, ask how the agent operates legally (some hold multiple state licences, others work through a licensed partner in the destination state).

2. How Many Properties Did You Settle in the Last Twelve Months

Volume is a useful proxy for current market engagement. An agent who settled 30 properties in the last year is in the market every week. An agent who settled three is either very selective or under-engaged.

Neither is automatically wrong. Prestige and complex briefs naturally take longer. Ask for the breakdown by price band and asset class. The pattern of the volume matters more than the headline number.

3. What Is Your Fee Structure and Total Cost for My Brief

A reputable buyers agent will quote the fee structure and a total cost estimate against the buyer's brief in writing before the engagement. The quote should specify whether the fee is fixed, percentage or tiered, what is included, what is not included and the GST position.

If the agent will not quote until the engagement is signed, that is a flag. See How Buyers Agent Fees Work in Australia and What You Should Expect to Pay for the typical ranges.

4. Do You Have Any Conflicts of Interest I Should Know About

A genuine buyers agent acts for buyers, not vendors. Some agents have side arrangements with developers, project marketers, mortgage brokers, financial planners or property managers that pay them referral fees on the buyer's transaction.

Most referral arrangements are legitimate and disclosed. The question to ask is what they are, who pays and how the conflict is managed. If a buyers agent receives a referral fee from a developer for placing buyers into the developer's stock, that is a meaningful conflict and should be transparent before engagement.

Ask directly. "Are you paid by anyone other than me on this transaction?" The answer should be no, or a clear disclosure of any third-party payment with the buyer's written acknowledgement.

5. What Is Your Typical Search Process

The process tells the buyer how the engagement will run day to day. A clean answer covers four stages.

• Brief intake and search criteria documentation
• Sourcing across on-market and off-market channels
• Shortlist, inspection and pricing assessment
• Negotiation or bid, contract review and settlement coordination

Listen for specifics. How many properties does the agent typically inspect before a shortlist? How does the agent document pricing? How is the buyer kept informed week to week? Generic answers ("we find you the right property") are not a process.

6. How Do You Source Off-Market Property

Off-market property is one of the most cited benefits of engaging a buyers agent. The question is whether the agent has a genuine off-market channel or whether they are repeating an industry talking point.

A real off-market answer covers specific sources. Selling agent relationships with named agencies. Vendor introductions from past clients. Network referrals from other buyers agents. Inheritance and deceased estate channels. Distribution networks that aggregate vendor briefs (such as AgentBridge).

A vague off-market answer ("we have a database of off-market listings") usually means a small mailing list of selling agents. Ask for an example of an off-market property the agent acquired in the last three months and the channel it came from. See Off-Market Property Explained for the full picture.

7. Can You Provide Three Recent Client References

A reputable buyers agent will provide three recent references on request. Recent means within the last six months. The references should match the buyer's brief profile (similar price range, similar property type, similar state).

When speaking to references, ask three questions. Did the engagement deliver on the timeline expected? Did the fee match the original quote? Would you engage the same agent again, and if so, what would you ask them to do differently?

A reference who answers yes to the first two and offers an honest answer to the third is a strong signal. A reference who is overly enthusiastic with no critical perspective is a weaker signal.

8. Who Will Do the Work on My Brief

In larger boutiques, the principal often runs the initial pitch and a junior buyers agent handles the day to day. In sole operator practices, the principal does everything. Neither is automatically better, but the buyer should know which model they are signing into.

Ask who will inspect properties, who will run the negotiation and who will brief the buyer week to week. Ask for the licence number of the named agent who will actually do the work, not just the principal's.

9. What Happens if I Want to Terminate the Engagement

Termination clauses vary widely. Some engagements allow termination with 14 days notice and pro-rata refund of any upfront fee. Some lock the buyer in for a fixed period. Some include a clause where the agent is still owed a fee if the buyer acquires a property within six months of termination that the agent had introduced.

Read the termination clause carefully. If the language is ambiguous, ask for a worked example. "If I sign on 1 July, terminate on 1 September having not bought, and then buy something the agent showed me in October, what do I owe?"

10. How Do You Document the Pricing Assessment Before an Offer or Bid

The single most consequential moment in the engagement is the price the buyer pays. A reputable buyers agent will provide a written pricing assessment before any offer or bid, supported by comparable sales evidence. The assessment should include a recommended target price, a walk-away ceiling and the reasoning behind both.

The buyer signs off the ceiling before the offer or bid goes live. This protects the buyer from auction adrenaline and protects the agent from being second-guessed after the fact.

If the agent does not provide written pricing assessments, that is a flag. Verbal "trust me, this is the number" assessments are not enough.

A Useful Comparison Format

To compare three shortlisted buyers agents, build a simple table.

Question	Agent A	Agent B	Agent C
Licence state and number	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Settlements in last 12 months	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Fee structure and total cost	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Disclosed conflicts of interest	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Process clarity (1 to 5)	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Off-market sources named	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
References available	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Named agent doing the work	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Termination clause clarity	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
Written pricing assessment process	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]

The table is not a scoring system. It is a way to make like-for-like comparison easier when meeting two or three agents over a fortnight blurs the distinctions.

When the Right Agent Is Not on the Search Engine

The two biggest sources of buyers agent shortlists are Google search and personal referral. Both have limits.

Google search rewards agents who invest heavily in SEO, which correlates with marketing budget rather than capability. Personal referral rewards proximity to the buyer's social network, which may or may not match the brief.

A third source is a national distribution network that aggregates buyers agents by specialisation and geography. AgentBridge operates one such network across all states and territories, with buyers agents categorised by segment, price bracket and specialisation. See About AgentBridge for how the network is structured.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should the shortlist process take?

A typical buyer interviews two or three agents over a fortnight. Rushing the shortlist is a common mistake. The agent will be working for the buyer for three to twelve months and across a transaction in the hundreds of thousands or millions. Spend the time.

Is it worth paying a premium for a well-known boutique?

Sometimes. A well-known boutique with a strong track record on the buyer's specific brief is worth the premium. A well-known boutique with a strong track record on a different brief is not. Match the brand to the brief, not the brand to a feeling.

Should I engage the buyers agent recommended by my mortgage broker?

Possibly. Mortgage broker referrals are common and many are good. The question is whether the broker is paid a referral fee by the buyers agent, and if so, whether that influences the recommendation. Ask both parties directly.

What if I cannot find a good buyers agent in my state?

Some states have fewer buyers agents than others. Tasmania, the Northern Territory and parts of regional Australia are thinly served. A national network can help, as can a buyers agent licensed in your home state who partners with a local agent in the destination state.

How many agents should I interview before deciding?

Two or three is usually right. One is too few to compare. Five is usually too many to keep distinct. Three matched against the table above gives a clean decision.

Related Resources

• What a Buyers Agent Does in Australia and How the Fees Work
• How Buyers Agent Fees Work in Australia and What You Should Expect to Pay
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying Your First Home in Australia

About AgentBridge

AgentBridge is an Australian property distribution business. AgentBridge connects vendors and developers to a national network of 80+ buyers agents across every state and territory. Every engagement includes simultaneous distribution to the network, a professional property brief, desktop pricing guidance and negotiation facilitation.

Last reviewed: 22 May 2026.