"Switching Careers to Buyer’s Agency: Experience vs. Expectations"

I recruit Buyer’s Agents. And a lot of people call wanting to transition into the industry.

They’ve bought a property or two. Maybe helped friends and family purchase. Some have contacts – tradies, agents, conveyancers. And they feel they have value to bring to an agency.

From their perspective, that’s completely justified. But here’s what they might not see: the employer’s inbox looks very different.

The Competition

When a buyer’s agency receives applications, they’re not just seeing career changers. They’re seeing people already working at competitor agencies. People completing 10, 15, 20 settlements per month. Not per year. Per month.

That’s the benchmark.

Buying five investment properties over ten years is valuable experience. But a working buyer’s agent might do five transactions in a month – juggling negotiations, inspections, auctions, and settlement deadlines simultaneously. The volume is different. The pressure is different.

The Reality of Small Agencies

Buyer’s agencies have gone mainstream in the last 5-10 years. That growth means most agencies are small – often one or two people running the show.

Every employer hiring a new employee is making an investment. Just like you’d assess risk and return on a property, they’re assessing risk and return on you. Salary, superannuation, insurance, training time – it adds up fast.

A larger agency with steady cash flow might have the flexibility to train you, guide you, give you breathing space to get up and running. A small operator? They’re paying your salary from settlements that haven’t happened yet. They need someone who can contribute quickly.

That’s not them being harsh. That’s the reality of running a small business.

About Those Contacts

Industry contacts feel like an asset. And they can be. But established agencies have been building relationships for years. The network a candidate offers might already overlap significantly with what the agency already has.

The value candidates think they’re bringing isn’t always the value employers are looking for.

A Better Approach

None of this means career changers can’t break in. They do. But the ones who succeed come in with realistic expectations.

Lead with hunger and willingness to learn, not with assumptions about the value you’ll add. Understand you’re competing against people already doing the job. Consider entry points – assistant roles, junior positions – that let you build the track record employers are actually looking for.

The Bottom Line

Personal property experience is a foundation. It’s not nothing. But it’s also not the same as 15 settlements this quarter.

Understanding that difference is the first step to actually making the transition work.