In Australia, buying agents are rare. The standard is that the seller engages an agent to sell the property, the fees (and other expenses) are charged by the ag

In Australia, buying agents are rare. The standard is that the seller engages an agent to sell the property, the fees (and other expenses) are charged by the agent to the seller. One of the problems that is affecting our real estate market is the domination of two websites, the Murdoch owned realestate.com.au and the Nine owned domain.com.au https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/19/the-bear-at-the-door-estate-agents-say-they-fear-speaking-out-about-realestatecomau-price-gouging https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/19/the-b... They both offer different advertising rates for agents than for individuals and lean on agents to purchase "packages" with a discount but an guaranteed number of properties. So now there's a new oligopoly that started as a service to buyers, then a service to business, now is extracting as much of the value of the market to itself. A classic case of "enshittification".