- In the US, half of all property transactions involve a buyer's agent
- With the property market roaring along, many buyers will miss out
- Could 2021 become a year when buyer's agents become more prevalent?
In the US, half of all property transactions involve a buyer’s agent. While most people in Australia use a real estate (sales) agent when they want to list their own property, they tend to strike out on their own when buying a home.
With the property market going gangbusters, and demand outstripping supply, will buyer’s agents come into the reckoning more?
The jury is out on that question, but there are some factors suggesting that buyer’s agents may have their place, and increasingly so.
Sydney-based buyer’s agent Maker Advisory has reportedly seen demand for its services rise six-fold in a month.
“Right now, the Australian property market is like a pub with no beer, or only the really overpriced stuff.”
Reece Coleman, head of advisory at Maker Advisory
“We have an influx of expats returning to our shores, large numbers of city folk fleeing our capitals in favour of coastal and rural settings, and home loan interest rates reaching historic lows – all of which are creating a huge groundswell of buyer demand that far outweighs actual supply,” he said.
More than 446,000 Australian expats returned to Australia between March 2020 and January 2021, and it is estimated that tens of thousands are still waiting to return.
New home loan commitments are at an all-time high, up more than 50% since the 2019 Banking Royal Commission, spurred on by the big banks committing to historically-low interest rates, fixed under the 2% mark.
If interest rates remain low, then house prices have been predicted to rise as much as 30% over the next few years.
The total supply of available listings in the market is down 10.5% since December, and in some cases, frustrated buyers are turning to specialist buyer’s agents to help them out.
Total Listings for Sale, Australia (2019-2021)
There are 100,000 fewer properties for sale in the country than in 2019. Source: SQM
Gone are the days when having a buyer’s agent was seen as a luxury, argues Mr Coleman. Once the domain of the unemotional or foreign investor, these days buyer’s agents can be used to help level the playing field.
“The bottom line is: you wouldn’t represent yourself in a court of law knowing that you won’t get the best result, so you should think twice about ‘do it yourself’ for one of the biggest investments of your life.”
Reece Coleman, Maker Advisory
Buyers agents could become one of the property trends of 2021, together with build to rent, rentvesting and fractional property.
