Well a lot has happened since 1999. Back then John Howard was Prime Minister, the GST was passed into legislation, Australia won the Rugby World Cup and Sydney’s hail storm was one for the record books! The world of Buyers Agents has undergone a world of change since then as well. When we started out as Buyers Agents in Sydney in 1999 the term “Buyer’s Agent” did not exist. There was not even a category available for us to advertise in the Yellow Pages.
Buyers Advocate vs Buyers Agent
“Buyers Advocates” became the most used term in Melbourne and “Buyers Agents” in Sydney was firmly established early on as the most common label. Back then we had to explain to sales agents what we did. After a few years they became more comfortable with our role in the property buying process, particularly as we represented serious clients who were ready to buy and not time wasters!
Trawling through newspapers was normal back in 1999 when Homesearch Solutions started out.
Changes in the way we find properties
We have seen huge changes in the real estate industry over our time as Buyers Agents. Initially we used to comb through the Wentworth Courier, Mosman Daily & North Shore Times for potential properties each week. We would then fax the cuttings off to our clients. In these days the local newspapers were often 500+ pages thick. Anyone selling a home had no choice but to outlay many thousands of dollars on a print advertising campaign!
Many of our clients back then were were living overseas in the pre-GFC days, with expat bankers being paid huge bonuses. Thankfully the internet revolutionised access to property listings, which made life for Buyers Agents a lot easier.
These days it’s all about the internet with specialised real estate websites becoming the norm.
While most of the public find their properties through the domain.com.au and realestate.com.au websites, as Buyers Agents we are given access to a large amount of “off market” listings. This was made possible through our relationships with sales agents, particularly at the upper end of the market. Many of these relationships were formed back when we started out in 1999 and have flourished to this day.
Professional bodies for Buyers Agents
Homesearch Solutions helped pioneer the industry as early committee members of REBAA (Real Estate Buyers Agents of Australia). When we started there were no guidelines for Buyers Agents, until around 2000 when REBAA developed a code of ethics for the industry. REBAA to this day is recognised as the leading professional body for Buyer’s Agents in the country.
A big milestone for us this year as Buyers Agents in Sydney
Homesearch Solutions is proud to announce that we have now completed over $1.4 Billion in transactions as Buyers Agents in Sydney on behalf of our clients. Since we commenced in 1999, most of these purchases have been in the North Shore, Eastern Suburbs, Northern Beaches and Inner West. We have also purchased many properties along the NSW Coast and regions near Sydney.
We have literally inspected thousands of houses, units and commercial properties over that period of time for a variety of clients, ranging from modest first home buyers through to the very wealthy.
Being a Buyers Agent takes more than finding a property for a client and transacting. It often takes great patience and sensitivity when dealing with clients. Many hours are occupied analysing data, taking photos & videos, being a taxi driver for clients. Now and then even acting as an amateur marriage counsellor to get husbands and wives on the same page in their quest for the perfect home.
The Future
As to the future? We think it looks positive! We expect the Buyers Agency industry to keep growing in Sydney as awareness continues to improve. As the industry grows we predict that buyers agents will tend to specialise more in a particular area rather than cover Sydney wide – much like selling agents currently do!
