Buyer referrals: how to find a buyer for your listing through other agents

What is a buyer referral for an estate agent?

A buyer referral is when the listing agent offers a share of their fee to another agent who brings a buyer who goes on to complete. The share is agreed before the introduction, often between 20% and 30% of the listing agent's fee, and paid on completion.

You have the house, someone else has the buyer

Most listings sell to a buyer the listing agent has never met. Some come through the portals, but a good number are sitting on another agent's applicant list, usually somebody who has been outbid twice and is still looking for exactly what you have just put on. A buyer referral is simply a way of reaching that applicant, by offering the agent who has them a share of your fee if they bring them to you and the sale completes.

Agents have always done this informally, over the phone or in a WhatsApp group. What has changed is that self-employed agents now have far fewer colleagues to ask, so the buyers they need are spread across dozens of other people's lists.

What share is normal

There is no fixed rate, but listing agents commonly offer between 20% and 30% of their own fee to the agent who brings the buyer. On an £860,000 sale at a 1.3% fee, a 30% share comes to £3,354.

The listing agent sets the number, because it is their instruction and their fee. A higher share makes sense on a property that needs a particular kind of buyer, while a lower one is fine on something that will sell on the portals anyway.

Keeping it clean

Set the share before anyone is introduced, and put it somewhere both agents can see.
Keep the seller's details private until the other agent has accepted the terms.
Keep the buyer's contact details with their agent until an introduction is agreed.
Agree that the share is payable on completion, once the listing agent has been paid.
Make sure the seller knows a fee is being shared, in line with your redress scheme's code.

How it works on BrokerBroker

You send the listing to one of your circles, which is a group of agents you have chosen, and say what share goes to whoever brings the buyer. Anyone with a matching applicant says so, and both of you see the introduction and the agreed split on the record. You can start it from WhatsApp, load listings in the web app, or have them come straight from a connected CRM. The buyer referrals page walks through one deal from start to finish.

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