Buyers agent vs real estate agent
Buyers agent vs real estate agent: whose side are they on?
Here is the one thing most buyers never quite register: the friendly agent at the open home does not work for you. A real estate agent is a selling agent, hired and paid by the seller to get the seller the highest price. A buyers agent is hired and paid by you, to pay the right price and tell you when a home is a lemon. Same industry, opposite sides of the table. Confuse the two and you negotiate against a professional while thinking they are helping you.
The difference, in one table
| Buyers agent | Real estate (selling) agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays them | You, the buyer | The seller |
| Whose interest they serve | Yours | The seller's |
| Their goal on price | Pay the right price, or tell you to walk | Get the highest price they can |
| What they tell you about the home | What is wrong with it | What is right with it |
| What you get to see | On-market and off-market | Only the homes they are selling |
| How the fee works | Fixed, agreed before you buy | Commission that rises with the price |
The trap
Selling agents are good at their job, and their job is not helping you. They are warm, they are responsive, they tell you the home is perfect for you, and none of that is dishonest. It is the role. Their duty is to the seller and their commission rises with the price you pay. So every dollar you save is a dollar off their client's result and their own fee. The moment you treat the person selling the house as your adviser, you have brought a referee who is paid by the other team.
A selling agent will convince you to buy. A buyers agent will tell you when to walk.
What a buyers agent changes
Three things move when someone is on your side of the table:
- The verdict. We are paid to find what is wrong with a home, not what is right. Buy it, or walk. That is the product.
- The price. We price against real comparable sales, not the guide the selling agent set to draw a crowd, and we hold the line in the negotiation or the room.
- The access. We work the agent networks, so you see off-market stock a walk-in buyer never hears about.
And the incentive is aligned by design. MacKenzie charges from 1.1%, fixed before you sign, so the fee does not climb with the price. If we do not beat the independent valuation, you do not pay our fee. Read more on what a buyers agent costs and why people use one.
When you don't need us
We are not for everyone, and it is worth saying so. If you know the market cold, you can read a contract and a building report, you have the time to inspect and the nerve to hold your price in the room, and the home you want is one nobody else is chasing, then you do not need a buyers agent. Save the fee. Where we earn it is the opposite: when you are buying somewhere you do not know, bidding against people who do, or spending more than you can afford to get wrong.
Proof it pays to have someone on your side
Want someone whose only job is your side of the deal?
Tell us what you are looking for, where, and your budget. We will tell you honestly whether you need us, and if you do, what it is worth and whether we can beat the valuation.
Buyers agent vs real estate agent, the questions people ask
What is the difference between a buyers agent and a real estate agent?
A real estate agent, the one at the open home, is a selling agent. They are hired and paid by the seller, and their job is to get the seller the highest price. A buyers agent is hired and paid by you, the buyer, to find the right property, tell you what is wrong with it, and pay the lowest defensible price. Same industry, opposite sides of the table.
Who does a real estate agent work for?
The seller, always. Even when the agent is friendly and helpful to you at the inspection, their legal duty and their commission both point one way: a higher sale price. Every dollar you talk them down is a dollar off their client's result and their own fee. They are not being dishonest, they are just not on your side.
Can a real estate agent help me buy a property?
They can sell you one of their listings, but they cannot negotiate against their own client on your behalf. They represent the seller. If you want someone whose only job is your side of the deal, that is a buyers agent.
Who pays the buyers agent?
You do, and that is the entire point. Because you pay us, we answer to you, not to a seller. MacKenzie charges from 1.1%, fixed before you sign, and if we do not beat the independent valuation you do not pay our fee. So our incentive is a good buy, not a big one.
Is a buyers agent worth it?
Depends what losing costs you. If you keep getting outbid, cannot price a property with confidence, or you are about to spend seven figures in a suburb you do not know, the fee is usually smaller than the mistake. If you know the market cold and nobody else wants the house, you do not need us.
Do buyers agents save you money?
A good one should more than cover the fee, through the price they negotiate and the lemons they steer you away from. We put our money where our mouth is: if we do not beat the independent valuation, our fee is not payable.
See also: why use a buyers agent, what a buyers agent costs, purchases we've made, and buying in Sydney or Newcastle.