Wentworth Lifestyle recently took a closer look at the role of buying agents, speaking to two of the industry's most experienced voices to understand how the profession works, how it has changed, and why it matters more than ever in today's uncertain property market.

We spoke with Jemma Scott of Jemma Scott Property, who brings 25 years in the industry specialising in relocation and home search across London and the Home Counties, and Jason Corbett, owner of Rowallan Buying Agents, who has nearly four decades in the property world. Between them, they offer a fascinating, occasionally contrasting, picture of a profession that is quietly reshaping how homes are bought and sold across the UK.

What Does a Buying Agent Actually Do?

At its heart, a buying agent exists to represent the interests of the purchaser, not the seller. Corbett, who spent three decades as an estate agent before founding Rowallan, describes the role simply: understanding a client's needs, sourcing the right property (often off-market), securing it on the best possible terms, and managing the process through to completion. Corbett brings a rare vantage point to the job, having worked both sides of the industry, which he says gives his clients the benefit of insider knowledge most buyers never get close to.

Scott frames the evolution of the profession in similar terms, noting that buying agency was traditionally the preserve of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, high-profile clients, or people relocating from abroad. That exclusivity has faded. It is now increasingly common to see professional representation on both sides of a transaction, and Scott says clients have come to genuinely value honest, proactive advice - someone with an ear to the ground who can move quickly when the right property appears.

Corbett has noticed the same democratisation from his side of the desk. Families with budgets well below his usual £1 million threshold are now approaching him, having recognised that if a seller benefits from professional representation, a buyer arguably needs it just as much, perhaps more, given what is at stake emotionally and financially in finding the right home.

Reading the UK Market - Uncertainty, Tax Talk and Political Change

Ask either agent about the current state of the UK property market and the word "uncertainty" comes up almost immediately.

Scott points to a combination of vendor expectations and rising build costs that have unsettled buyers and sellers alike. The traditional spring and summer selling season started promisingly this year but was again overshadowed by geopolitical headlines, leaving the industry watching closely for how the autumn market develops. She notes that many in the industry are hoping a new Prime Minister might bring the kind of stability that restores confidence, though most agree that stamp duty land tax remains a genuine barrier. Sellers who missed the unusually strong "pandemic peak" now have little incentive to move, and discretionary sellers such as downsizers often need real encouragement to come to market. Appetite for renovation projects, meanwhile, has fallen sharply as build costs climb, making once-popular fixer-upper opportunities a harder sell, though Scott is clear that the best locations and finishes still command a premium for buyers who are well advised.

Corbett's read on the market picks up a similar thread but from a different angle. Interest rates had been falling through the year, with further cuts expected, and spring was generally buoyant. Then came speculation around tax changes affecting property purchases, sales and inheritance announcements that, whether or not they prove to be worst-case scenarios, tend to freeze the traditional market until clarity arrives with the autumn budget. By the time that clarity comes, he suggests, much of the seasonal momentum will already have been lost, since the autumn market typically begins slowing from early December.

Interestingly, Corbett argues that this kind of uncertainty can actually work in a buying agent's favour. With more than 85% of Rowallan's properties found off-market, sellers are often still open to a sale, they simply don't want a public price history attached to their home. A private, well-connected buying agent can bridge that gap in a way an open listing never could.

On demographics, Corbett notes a shift concentrated largely in London, where some traditional overseas investors are now looking elsewhere, while demand outside the capital remains steady, driven mainly by families seeking more space, better schools, or new jobs.

Do Buying Agents and Selling Agents Actually Get Along?

Given they sit on opposite sides of the negotiating table, it might seem like buying agents and selling agents are natural rivals. Both Scott and Corbett describe something closer to a professional alliance.

Scott says her business relies on strong relationships with selling agents, describing "agent to agent" conversations as often more candid than those with clients, simply because of the sheer volume of properties both sides see and discuss each month. She is careful, though, to draw a firm ethical line: a selling agent should never dabble in buying, and vice versa. Her advice to prospective clients is to always ask who is actually representing their interests, and who is paying the fee.

Corbett goes further, arguing that selling agents who have previously worked with an experienced buying agent tend to welcome the collaboration warmly. A good buying agent will have already vetted their client and done the due diligence, removing much of the unpredictability and emotion that can derail a sale. He points to a striking statistic: around one in four property sales in the UK fall through, but fewer than one in twenty of his own do. A track record, he says, that earns his clients real favour with selling agents compared with buyers going it alone.

The Truth About "Off-Market"

While Corbett speaks with real conviction about the value of off-market sourcing, Scott offers a useful note of caution around a phrase she believes has lost some of its meaning. She describes "off-market" as one of the most overused terms in property, deployed liberally on both the buying and selling side. Most good buying agents, herself included, will point to the majority of their transactions happening off-market, and she agrees it remains a genuinely important part of the job. But she is candid that in the current climate, buying privately usually comes at a premium, and with a property essentially untested for both buyer and seller, it really needs to be something special to justify that cost.

Where Scott sees the real skill lies less in simply finding an unlisted property and more in knowing how to reopen doors that appear closed. Some of her most interesting and nuanced deals recently have involved guiding clients back toward homes they had already ruled out as too expensive or out of reach. That, she says, is where being genuinely embedded in the "market in motion" pays off. Using market intelligence and diligent groundwork to build a credible case for renegotiation rather than simply accepting a listed price as final.

How Buying Agents Charge — and When

Fee structures vary across the industry, but both agents describe similar broad models. Scott explains that some buying agents charge a flat fee, though most work on a retainer followed by a success fee calculated as a percentage of the sale price. Payment typically falls due following exchange, and she is clear that unless a single agent is representing both buyer and seller — something she would not recommend — the two fees remain entirely separate. The seller pays their agent to secure the best terms for them; the buyer pays their agent to do the same in return.

Corbett's approach is similarly percentage-based, usually tied to the asking price, though he offers flexibility through fee caps or fixed arrangements where it helps reassure a client that he isn't incentivised to push a purchase toward the top of their budget. What he won't do is discount his overall fee. With a deliberately small client list — no more than five at any time — he argues that a reduced fee would suggest a lack of confidence in the value of the service itself. Like Scott, his fee is payable on exchange and kept entirely separate from any selling agent's commission.

What Happens When the Perfect Property Doesn't Exist?

Both agents were asked what happens if a client's brief simply can't be matched to an available property — and whether clients have any recourse.

Scott is reassuring on this point, noting that for most clients the search is a journey that evolves naturally over time. She estimates that roughly 80% of clients begin their search insisting they don't want a renovation project, yet the majority end up taking one on regardless, often because the most desirable homes in the best locations rarely come to market and may be "due their generational refresh" when they finally do.

Corbett takes a similarly pragmatic view, pointing out that because his fee — aside from a small holding payment he calls a "sincerity payment" — is only due on exchange, there is very little financial risk to the client if the ideal property isn't found. He is candid that he won't take on a search he doesn't believe is achievable, given that his business depends on completed transactions. Contracts typically run for around six months and often roll over, though he notes most searches conclude within that window, and any holding fee is deducted from the final invoice rather than lost.

An Industry in Flux

Both agents see real change coming to the wider property agency landscape. Scott describes a reshaping already underway, as large corporate agencies struggle to keep older business models profitable, prompting experienced agents to leave and set up independently. For buyers, this has diluted what was once a fairly concentrated market of a handful of well-known firms into a much wider, less familiar field of independent operators relying heavily on portals, networks and social media.

Corbett sees a parallel trend from the buying side, observing a growing number of newcomers entering the buying agent profession without a background in estate agency. While the role can look deceptively simple from the outside, he maintains that decades of relationships and insider knowledge — built from working both sides of the industry — are simply not replicable, a truth he believes holds in most careers where experience is everything.

Can Technology Replace a Buying Agent?

Perhaps the most striking area of agreement between the two is on technology. Both are confident that AI, online listings and virtual tours will not make buying agents obsolete — if anything, they argue, technology increases the value of having a genuine expert on the ground.

Scott recalls that during the pandemic, agents who invested heavily in polished virtual tours often saw less interest, not more, as buyers "swiped left" on homes they hadn't experienced in person. She also points out a less obvious flaw in relying on data: sold-price statistics can lag reality by up to twelve months, since a "sold" figure reflects the completion date, not the date the deal was actually agreed — often in a very different market.

Corbett agrees there is no substitute for human empathy in the process. In an initial client meeting, often in their own home, he says an experienced buying agent can uncover what someone actually wants — sometimes before the client has articulated it themselves — cutting through the "romantic ideal" people often hold that doesn't quite match reality once work pressures, family opinions and practical constraints are factored in. He counters seller-biased marketing with something practical: filming honest, factual videos of every property he views, focused entirely on his client's needs rather than a seller's sales pitch.

Stories From the Search

Both agents have plenty of experience to draw on, even if discretion limits what they can share publicly.

Scott recalls clients who arrived wanting a turnkey new build and ended up thrilled with a Grade II listed project instead, alongside families relocating from London for schools and green space, and one family who left the US after their children's school introduced gun drills. Her most memorable recent search involved a couple "rightsizing" out of a large family home they only used a fraction of, ultimately choosing a modest 1950s house with rare views and privacy, which she helped transform into a contemporary home with an architect — complete with easy access to tennis and health clubs nearby.

Corbett, for his part, recalls a couple who couldn't agree on where to move, to the point that the disagreement was straining their marriage. Within four months, he had found them a home they both loved, a reminder, he says, of just how much value experience, relationships and knowledge can add to a search that data and portals alone simply can't replicate.

The Takeaway

Speaking to Jemma Scott and Jason Corbett, a clear picture emerges. A buying agent is no longer a niche service reserved for the ultra-wealthy, but a profession increasingly recognised as essential by a broader range of buyers navigating a genuinely uncertain market. Both agents agree that technology has its place, but neither believes it can replace the judgement, relationships and lived experience that come from years spent inside the industry on both sides of the transaction. As Wentworth Lifestyle found, in a market shaped by shifting tax policy, rising build costs and political uncertainty, having someone whose sole job is to look after the buyer's interests may be more valuable now than at any point in recent memory.