Find a Real Estate Agent in Australia

A real estate agent plays a crucial role in assisting clients with purchasing, renting, or selling properties while providing valuable insights into current market conditions and facilitating the transaction. Their responsibilities include:

• Conducting property walkthroughs and offering guidance to buyers, sellers, and tenants who are leasing
• Reviewing purchase contracts to ensure compliance with terms and conditions
• Utilizing various marketing strategies, such as advertisements, listings, and open houses, to promote properties. This includes organizing the copy, photography and floorplan design, organizing any mailbox drops and/or signboards, portal listings, and the open homes schedule
• Generating leads for clients interested in buying, selling, or renting properties
• Advising clients on market conditions, property prices, and mortgage options
• Conducting comparative analysis to determine competitive market prices for properties
• Arranging property viewings for potential buyers and renters
• Presenting purchase offers to sellers and facilitating negotiations between buyers and sellers
• Preparing essential documents such as contracts, purchase agreements, rental agreements, deeds, and other transaction-related paperwork
• Keeping up-to-date with real estate licensing requirements and industry knowledge
• Ensuring purchase contracts adhere to specified terms and conditions
• Our Top Tip: It is important to meet with agents face to face to discuss the potential sale of your property and ensure you are choosing the right to represent your property

Choosing a real estate agent for the sale of your property is not always an easy decision. We would recommend you meet with 2 or 3 agents before making a decision to ensure you select the best choice for you, your property and the area.

Below are some ways to create a shortlist of potential agents;

• Referrals From Friends; get a referral from friends or family who have recently sold or purchased a property.
• Online; research potential real estate agents to sell your property online via real estate sites. Look at which agents have a high number of listings / sold properties in your area as this may provide you with an indication of who is reputable in your local market.
• Newspaper; find out who is having the most success at auctions (if applicable) by reviewing weekly auctions results. You may wish to shortlist a few agents who have sold properties similar to yours in the local area.
• Locality; explore your local shopping strip to determine which agents operate in your local area. Look at what properties are featured in their window for sale.
• Open Inspections; go to open for inspections for properties which are being handled by local agents. Discover how quickly the agent will respond to your request and the value of the information he / she provides.

A real estate agent helps clients to purchase, rent, or sell properties as well as offering advice about the current market conditions.

They conduct property walkthroughs, position and market the property, manage the advertising and facilitate the negotiations and hopefully finalise the transaction. They are experts in their field.

They also assist with;

• Reviewing purchase contracts to ensure terms are met
• Organizing the promotion of the property through advertising, listings, and open houses
• Generate client leads to buy, sell, and rent property
• Counsel clients on market conditions, prices, and mortgages
• Develop a competitive market price by comparing properties
• Create lists for real estate sale properties, with information location, features and square footage
• Show properties to potential buyers and renters
• Present purchase offers to sellers
• Facilitate negotiations between buyers and sellers
• Promote properties with ads, listings, and open houses
• Prepare loyalty contracts, purchase agreements, rental agreements, deeds and other documents for each real estate transaction
• Maintain real estate license and knowledge
• Review purchase contracts to ensure terms are met

When you are shortlisting potential agents to help sell your property, you need know what it will cost you, specifically their fees and commission.

The fees associated with utilizing a real estate agent in Australia can vary depending on several factors, including the location, the value of the property, and the specific arrangements made with the agent. Here are some common fees you may come across:

1. Commission Fee: The most common fee is the commission charged by the real estate agent, which is typically a percentage of the final sale price. In Australia, the commission rate can range from around 1% to 3% of the property's sale price. It's important to clarify the commission rate with the agent before entering into an agreement.
2. Marketing and Advertising Costs: Some agents may charge additional fees to cover marketing and advertising expenses for promoting your property. These costs can include professional photography, online listings, signage, print advertisements, and other promotional activities. Make sure to discuss these costs upfront with your agent.
3. Auction Fees: If you choose to sell your property through an auction, there may be additional fees associated with organizing and conducting the auction. These fees can include auctioneer fees and administrative costs.
4. Administration or Documentation Fees: Some agents may charge a separate fee to cover administrative tasks or the preparation of necessary documentation throughout the sales process. This can include drafting contracts, organizing inspections, or managing paperwork related to the sale.
5. Additional Services: Depending on your specific needs, there might be additional services offered by the agent that come with associated fees. For example, if you require property styling or professional home staging, there could be charges for those services.

It’s crucial to have a transparent discussion with your real estate agent about all potential fees and charges before entering into any agreement. This will help you understand the costs involved and make an informed decision.

It is important to make sure that any potential agency that you will appoint is licensed by the relevant state authority to practice real estate.

Determine how much experience they have in the real estate industry and also how much experience they have in your local area of the market.

To determine where an agency’s strengths and weaknesses are, as well as understand the level of service that you may experience, it can be a worthwhile exercise to speak to past clients of the agency.

Are they representing many other vendors, hence being reputable and successful? Bigger however is not always better, it is also important to establish if you will be a priority and get the service and attention you need to achieve the best sale price for your property.

What marketing strategy will they adopt to promote your property? What can they provide for you that the competition cannot? How often will they advertise?

When will they contact you to let you know buyer interest and feedback?

Will this agent have adequate support and backup in order to manage this sale? If your allocated sales representative is unavailable, will they have someone who is also qualified to step in?

It is important to establish if fees are payable upon the successful sale of your property or if you will incur fees regardless of the outcome.