THERE ARE BENEFITS to working with a large real estate agency when foreign investors are looking at opportunities in the Australian property market.
Aaron Brooks, chief executive of real estate group Harcourts Queensland, said investors should look closely at the organisation and the agent they were dealing with when buying in Australia.
'A large organisation is generally an advantage,' he said. 'Gaining information on an agent from a distance can be difficult at times because it is often difficult to assess the character of an individual when there are cultural differences. The best practice is to work through a large organisation which provides easy access to the information an international investor needs to gain a market understanding.'
Mr Brooks said potential buyers could also check their real estate agent's credentials.
'All Queensland agents are licensed by the state government and have an understanding of the law in practice. In addition, there is membership of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, which binds agents to some extent by a moral code of conduct as part of the membership criteria.'
A similar infrastructure exists in other states.