Buyer's Agent vs Real Estate Agent — What's the Difference?

A real estate agent — the selling agent — is hired and paid by the seller, and their legal obligation is to get the highest price for the seller. A buyer's agent, also called a buyer's advocate, is hired and paid by you, and their obligation is to get the lowest price for you. When a selling agent is helping you at an open inspection, they are working for the other side of the transaction.

You do. A buyer's agent takes no commission from the seller, which is the structural reason they can be 100% on your side. Selling agents are paid by the seller at 1.5% to 3% of the sale price; buyer's agents are paid by you, at a fixed fee of $15,800 + GST for investment purchases or 0.8% to 2% for owner-occupied.

Selling agents share information selectively to drive the price up — the standard lines are that there is a lot of interest, or that another offer is coming. That is not misconduct; it is the job they were hired to do. A buyer's agent provides objective market data, comparable sales and the negatives of a property, because they are paid by the person the negatives matter to.

Selling agents are trained to maximise the sale price using urgency, competition and emotional pressure. Buyer's agents work the other direction, using building inspection reports, settlement flexibility and comparable sales analysis as leverage. Our own negotiation record across 200+ transactions a year shows average savings of $30,000 to $80,000 per purchase.

Yes — that is one of the main structural differences. A selling agent shows you their own listings; a buyer's agent searches the entire market, including off-market properties that never appear on Domain or realestate.com.au. Roughly 30% of our purchases are off-market, and in our experience about half of off-market properties trade below bank valuation.

Yes — in Australia the two terms describe the same role and the same licence. Both refer to a licensed real estate professional who is engaged and paid by the buyer, works exclusively for the buyer, and takes no commission from the seller.

Mostly because they do not realise the other side is represented. In a courtroom the prosecution and the defence each have their own lawyer. In property, the seller has a real estate agent — and most buyers walk in with nobody acting for them, negotiating against a professional whose entire training is aimed at the opposite outcome.

The selling agent's 1.5% to 3% is already priced into the transaction and paid by the seller out of the sale proceeds — you do not avoid it by not hiring anyone. Adding a buyer's agent costs you $15,800 + GST on an investment purchase, against an average negotiated saving of $30,000 to $80,000 in our own record, plus the mistakes avoided in due diligence.