Fees, honestly
Buyers agent fees: from 1.1%, and only if we beat the valuation.
Most buyers agents in Australia charge about 2% of the purchase price, quoted as 2.2% with GST, and full-service fees run from roughly 1% to 3% depending on the city, the agency and the scope. Flat fees run from about $5,000 to $40,000. On a seven-figure purchase, expect a five-figure fee. MacKenzie's fee starts at 1.1%, it is fixed before you sign, and if we don't beat the bank valuation you don't pay it. Anyone who won't give you a number before you sign is answering the question for you.
What MacKenzie charges
From 1.1%, fixed before you sign. If we don't beat the bank valuation, you don't pay our fee.
| Engagement | Fee | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| You inspect | from 1.1% | We source (including off-market), do the due diligence, price it and negotiate. You attend the inspections. |
| Full service | 1.65% | Everything above, inspections included. We are your eyes on the ground from brief to settlement. |
Both are fixed upfront. On a $1.5M purchase, 1.1% is about $16,500, well under the roughly $30,000 a 2% agent would charge, and you only pay if we beat the independent valuation. We only take briefs where we back ourselves on the gap between price and value, because our fee depends on it.
Get your number Call 0485 048 187What are the fee models?
| Model | How it works | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage | A percentage of the final purchase price, agreed before engagement. | The fee rises when you pay more. Read that sentence again, then ask the agent how that incentive is managed. |
| Fixed fee | One number, agreed upfront, regardless of what you end up paying for the property. | None structurally. But scope varies wildly, so confirm exactly what's included. |
| Tiered / partial | Lower fee for negotiation-only or auction-bidding-only engagements. | You do the finding; they do the closing. Fine, if you can genuinely price what you found. |
| "Free" to the buyer | Paid by developers or sellers to place you into their stock. | Then you're not the client. You're the product. Avoid. |
What do buyers agents actually charge right now?
Ranges we see in the market as a practising agency, 2026-27:
| Who | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| The common benchmark | 2% of purchase price, usually quoted as 2.2% including GST |
| Brisbane | 2% to 3% depending on the agency. The benchmark is 2.5% |
| Sydney's Northern Beaches | 1.65% including GST is common |
| Newcastle and the Hunter | 1.1% to 2.2% including GST. The benchmark is 2% |
| Solo / low-volume operators | 1% or less. You're often paying for capacity, not access |
| Flat-fee agencies | $5,000 to $40,000 depending on service depth |
Scope moves the number as much as postcode does. Full acquisition sits at the top of the range: search, off-market access, due diligence, inspections and negotiation. Strip the inspections out and keep everything else, and the fee typically drops by about a third.
How much does a buyers agent cost in Sydney?
Sydney fees vary by region more than anywhere else in the country. On the Northern Beaches, 1.65% including GST is common. In more competitive areas like the Eastern Suburbs and the Inner West, 2.2% including GST is the benchmark, though it varies with the agency, their experience and their outcomes. On a $2.5 million purchase, that puts the fee somewhere between $41,250 and $55,000, which is why asking for the number upfront matters more here than anywhere else.
How much does a buyers agent cost in Brisbane?
Brisbane sits at the top of the national range. The benchmark is 2.5%, with fees running from 2% to 3% depending on the agency. On a $1.2 million purchase that means $24,000 to $36,000. Brisbane also has a heavier concentration of flat-fee investor services at the lower end, so the same suburb can quote you $8,000 or $28,000 for very different levels of work.
How much does a buyers agent cost in Newcastle?
The Newcastle benchmark is 2% of the purchase price, but the spread is wide: 1.1% to 2.2% including GST depending on the agency and the scope, with investor-focused services at the lower end. On a $1.5 million purchase that means anywhere from $16,500 to $33,000 for what can be very different levels of work, so compare scope before you compare percentages.
What does the fee actually buy?
Not house-finding. You can find a house on your phone, in bed, tonight. The fee buys the parts that decide whether the purchase was good: research that produces a defendable number, due diligence that finds the lemons before you own one, negotiation run by your side instead of the agent's, and access to property that never reaches the portals.
When you don't need a buyers agent
Honestly: if you're buying in a suburb you know street-by-street, there's no competition for the property, you can read a strata report and a building inspection without flinching, and you can walk away from a deal you've fallen in love with, then you don't need us. Most people have two or three of those. It's the missing ones that get expensive.
The MacKenzie model
One number, agreed before you sign. And if we don't beat the bank valuation, you don't pay it.
Full acquisition, or a reduced scope if you've got inspections covered. Either way the fee is fixed upfront, and still cheaper than the second bidder. A small retainer to start, the balance once we've bought. We only take engagements where we're confident of the gap between price and value, because our fee depends on it.
Start the conversation Call 0485 048 187The questions people actually ask about fees
How much does a buyers agent cost in Australia?
Most buyers agents in Australia charge about 2% of the purchase price (2.2% including GST), or a flat fee from roughly $5,000 to $40,000. Full-service fees run from about 1% to 3% depending on the city, agency and scope, so on a seven-figure purchase expect a five-figure fee. MacKenzie charges from 1.1%, fixed before you sign, and if we don’t beat the independent valuation you don’t pay our fee.
How much do buyers agents charge?
Two ways. A percentage of the purchase price, usually around 2% (2.2% including GST), or a flat fee, commonly $5,000 to $40,000 depending on scope. The catch with a percentage is that the more you pay for the house, the more the agent earns, which is worth remembering when they are advising you on price. MacKenzie charges from 1.1%, fixed before you sign, so the fee does not climb with the price.
How much is a buyers agent for a $1 million house?
On a $1 million purchase, a typical 2% fee is about $20,000, or $22,000 including GST. A flat fee might land anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 depending on scope. At MacKenzie’s 1.1% that is roughly $11,000, fixed before you sign, and only payable if we beat the independent valuation.
Is a buyers agent worth the fee?
Depends what losing costs you. If you keep getting outbid, can’t price property confidently, or you’re about to spend seven figures on a suburb you don’t know, the fee is usually smaller than the mistake. If you know the market and nobody else wants the house, you don’t need us.
When do I actually pay?
A small retainer to start, and the balance once we’ve bought. And at MacKenzie, if we don’t beat the bank valuation, you don’t pay our fee at all.
What if I’ve already found the house?
The fee is lower for negotiation-and-due-diligence-only engagements. We’ll tell you what it’s worth, find what’s wrong with it, and win it on terms. If it’s a lemon, that’s the cheapest bad news you’ll ever get.
Why do fees vary so much between buyers agents?
Scope and skin in the game. A search-and-shortlist service costs less than full acquisition with due diligence and auction execution. Ask any agent what happens to their fee if the purchase turns out to be a bad one. The answer tells you everything.
What are buyers agent fees in Sydney?
Sydney fees vary by region more than anywhere else: 1.65% including GST is common on the Northern Beaches, and 2.2% is the benchmark in the Eastern Suburbs and Inner West. On a $2.5M purchase that is roughly $41,000 to $55,000. MacKenzie charges from 1.1%, fixed before you sign, and if we don’t beat the independent valuation you don’t pay our fee.
What are buyers agent fees in Newcastle?
The Newcastle benchmark is about 2%, but the range is wide: 1.1% to 2.2% including GST depending on scope. On a $1.5M purchase that is roughly $16,500 to $33,000. MacKenzie charges from 1.1%, fixed before you sign, with the same beat-the-valuation guarantee.
Is a buyers agent a flat fee or a percentage?
Both exist. A percentage fee rises with the price you end up paying, which is worth thinking about. A flat fee is agreed upfront regardless of purchase price. MacKenzie fixes the fee before you sign, so our incentive is the quality of the buy, not the size of it.
More on how we work: why people use a buyers agent at all, buying in Sydney, buying in Newcastle and the Hunter, or the MacKenzie approach, the guarantee, and the receipts.