The Bald Barber.

Unless you have been living under a rock you may have noticed that buyers agents are spawning right across Sydney and new offices seem to be popping up everywhere touting claims to ‘save you thousands’ and give you access to ‘secret off market homes.’ This trend has a stark resemblance to when just a few years ago real estate offices were opening on every corner claiming to ‘make you thousands’ and claiming to give you access to ‘secret buyers’….things that make you go hmmmm.

I must admit, I didn’t think the buyers agent craze would catch on like it has but boy was I was wrong. Each week at opens we see more and more new buyers agents turning up. This has led to me reflecting on why this is happening - I have some theories and yes I am here to share them with you.

Firstly, and my fellow agents this one is on us….many agents treat buyers poorly, this leads to frustration and in many cases genuine resentment. A few years ago I sat in a real estate conference where a room full of selling agents were asked what their biggest daily distractions were…get this…the majority of the room said ‘dealing with buyer enquiry’ (my answer was googling F1 news but I digress). Side note: many agents also complain they don’t have enough listings…(NEWS FLASH…most buyers have a property they need to sell).

Secondly, the allure of these secret off market listings. Whilst it's true that some homes sell off market, the vast majority don’t. We hear regularly from people who have paid a buyers agent a retainer (??) and ended up not being shown anything. No-one wants to feel like they are missing out on something but folks you need to ask yourself the question that if you owned a great property why would you sell it off market? In my experience most people that agree to sell off market only do so because they get an offer that is too good to refuse! So if we join the dots here you may be paying someone a commission to help you overpay for a property.

Lastly, what qualifies someone to be a buyers agent? Is it the ability to look at the internet and attend open homes? The barriers of entry are very low so if you are thinking of employing one we say do your research. I would have thought that you would want someone that knows how to negotiate (hard to prove) and has done very well in their own life with real estate investment. This is going to land me in some trouble with some younger buyers agents but I’d also want someone who has bought their own home.

I will finish on this, at the risk of sounding hypocritical I have personally bought an investment property using a buyers agent. It was in a rising market interstate that I knew nothing about and I was just too busy to do the research. The property I bought was a good one and the price and the fee I paid was fair.

What’s the point here? Do your research.

Until next week,

David Murphy