What Does a Buyer's Agent Do? Pay, Licensing and How to Start

If a selling agent works for the vendor, who works for the buyer? That's the buyer's agent. It's one of the fastest-growing corners of Australian real estate, and in a market where buyers suddenly have more choice and more room to negotiate, it's a genuinely exciting career to look at.

Here's what the job really involves, what it pays, how licensing works, and how to get your foot in the door.

What is a buyer's agent?

A buyer's agent (sometimes called a buyer's advocate) is a licensed real estate professional who represents the person buying a property, not the person selling it. They find the right home or investment, check it out properly, work out what it's really worth, and negotiate or bid to buy it at the best possible price and terms.

The NSW Government puts it plainly: real estate agents who act for the buyer are known as buyer's agents, and they must hold either a real estate agent's licence or a certificate of registration and work under the direction of a licensed agent (NSW Government).

Clients range from busy professionals and first home buyers who feel out of their depth, to interstate and overseas buyers, to investors building a portfolio who want someone with local knowledge on the ground.

What does a buyer's agent do day to day?

No two days look the same, which is part of the appeal. A typical week might include:

• Client briefs. Sitting down with a new client to pin down budget, must-haves, deal-breakers, finance position and timeframe.
• Sourcing. Scanning listings, but more importantly working the phones with selling agents to hear about off-market and pre-market properties before they hit the portals.
• Inspections. Walking through homes with a critical eye, spotting issues, and filming or photographing them for clients who can't attend.
• Due diligence. Reviewing comparable sales, zoning, strata reports, flood and bushfire overlays, and lining up building and pest inspections.
• Negotiation and auctions. Making offers, managing private treaty negotiations, and bidding at auction on the client's behalf.
• Settlement support. Coordinating with the client's conveyancer or solicitor, broker and inspectors right through to keys in hand.

It's a mix of detective work, sales, analysis and relationship building. You spend a lot of time talking to selling agents, so a good reputation in the local industry is half the job.

The skills that make a great buyer's agent

• Negotiation. Calm, patient and persistent. You're spending someone else's money, and every dollar matters.
• Local market knowledge. Street by street, not just suburb by suburb.
• Analytical thinking. Reading comparable sales and spotting when a price guide doesn't add up.
• Communication. Clients are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives. Clear, honest updates build trust fast.
• Networking. The best deals often come from relationships with selling agents.
• Comfort with tech. Data platforms, CRMs and AI tools are now part of the kit. Tools like Grok Bot, Claude or ChatGPT can be a useful starting point for summarising strata reports, drafting client updates or comparing sales data, as long as you check the details yourself.

Licensing in Australia and New Zealand

Licensing is set state by state, so check the rules for wherever you'll be buying. The Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) has a helpful summary on its become a buyer's agent page, and the broad pattern is a lighter registration for employees and a full licence for principals.

• NSW: you can work as an employee or assistant buyer's agent under a licensed agency with a Certificate of Registration or Assistant Agent Licence. To run your own buyer's agency you need at least a full Class 1 real estate licence, issued by NSW Fair Trading.
• Victoria: REBAA notes you'll need the full Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice plus 12 months of practical experience within three years of applying. Applications go through Consumer Affairs Victoria's myCAV system, and the individual licence application fee for 2026–27 is $450.90.
• Queensland: an employee working under a licensed principal may only need a real estate salesperson registration certificate. If you work as an independent contractor or run your own business, you need a full real estate licence (Queensland Government).
• South Australia: REBAA says the minimum to work as a representative for a licensed agent is a Certificate IV in Property Services (real estate), while running your own agency needs a full Registered Land Agent licence and the Diploma of Property Services (Agency Management).
• Other states and territories, and New Zealand: rules differ, so check with your local fair trading or consumer affairs office. In New Zealand, the Real Estate Authority is the place to start for licensing questions.

What do buyer's agents earn?

Pay is usually a base salary plus commission or bonus when you work for an agency, and fees when you run your own. Buyer's agents typically charge clients either a fixed fee or a percentage of the purchase price.

Some real numbers from published sources:

• Entry Education, citing Talent.com, puts the average annual earnings at $130,000, with entry-level buyer's agents starting around $75,000 and top performers around $200,000 (Entry Education).
• The same provider says buyer's agent commissions commonly sit between 1% and 3% of the purchase price, with fixed fees ranging from about $10,000 to $30,000 depending on the property and scope.
• Yahoo Finance reported Glassdoor's average buyer's agent salary at a little over $151,000 a year (Yahoo Finance).
• Recruiter Placed Australia's 2025 salary guide reported pay for specialist buyer's agents grew 6% in NSW and 8% in Queensland (Placed Australia).
• On SEEK, support roles are a common way in. For example, a buyer's agent assistant and post-acquisitions coordinator role in Mascot, Sydney was advertised at $75,000 to $95,000 (SEEK).

Treat the big numbers as what's possible, not a promise. Income depends heavily on how many deals you close, your local market's price points and how your pay is structured.

Career path

A common path looks like this:

1. Assistant or associate buyer's agent. Research, inspections, appraisals and admin while you learn the ropes under a licensed principal.
2. Buyer's agent. Managing your own clients from brief to settlement.
3. Senior or lead buyer's agent. Bigger budgets, investor and portfolio clients, and mentoring juniors.
4. Principal or agency owner. Running your own buyer's agency, often with a niche such as investors, prestige homes, a specific region or commercial property.

Plenty of buyer's agents come from selling agency, property management, mortgage broking, valuation or conveyancing. All of those give you a head start on market knowledge and negotiation.

How to get started

• Get the entry qualification for your state. Start with the registration-level course, then build towards a full licence.
• Join an established buyer's agency as an assistant. You'll learn faster under someone experienced than going it alone.
• Build your network with local selling agents, brokers, conveyancers and building inspectors.
• Pick a patch and know it inside out. Go to open homes and auctions on weekends, track results and get a feel for what things really sell for.
• Consider joining REBAA for professional development and credibility.

My view? This is one of the most rewarding roles in property. You're on the buyer's side, you're helping people make a huge decision well, and with more stock and more negotiating room in today's market, good buyer's agents have never been more useful.

Ready to make the move? Browse buyer's agent and property jobs across Australia and New Zealand and take the first step.

By Brett Iredale