Most buyers advocates in Australia charge in one of three ways: a fixed flat fee, a percentage of the purchase price, or a smaller upfront engagement fee with the balance due on a successful purchase. There's no single industry-standard number — the right fit depends on your budget, the property type, and how much of the process you want covered.
The three common fee structures
1. Fixed flat fee
A single, agreed price for the full service, regardless of the property's eventual purchase price. This gives you cost certainty from day one, which many buyers prefer, particularly on a defined budget.
2. Percentage of purchase price
A fee calculated as a percentage of whatever the property ends up selling for. This aligns the advocate's incentive with getting a genuinely fair price rather than just closing a deal quickly.
3. Engagement fee + success fee
A smaller fee paid upfront to begin the search (covering time, inspections and initial work), with the larger balance payable only once a property is successfully secured on your behalf.
What tends to affect the price
- Scope of service — a full search-to-settlement engagement costs more than an auction-bidding-only service.
- Property type — commercial property or land often involves more due diligence than a standard residential purchase.
- Purchase price — for percentage-based fees, this scales with the property's value.
- Search difficulty — a tightly-held suburb or a specific, narrow brief can mean more time invested in the search itself.
How to think about the cost
The more useful comparison isn't the fee in isolation — it's the fee against the outcome. A skilled negotiator who saves you tens of thousands of dollars off the asking price, or who steers you away from a property with an expensive structural issue you hadn't noticed, can end up being effectively free, or better than free, once you account for what you didn't pay or didn't lose. Our verified client results include savings ranging from around $40,000 to over $500,000, depending on the property.
Because the right fee structure depends on what you're specifically looking for, we don't publish a single flat number — every quote from Baxa Property Services is free and tailored to your situation.