The importance of a buyer's agent is derived from the principle that there are potentially many pitfalls associated with a real estate transaction; things you may never even think of. Caveat Emptor (buyer beware). A buyer's agent is your represenatative and advocate during the purchase. A home buyer should seek out a good buyer's agent who is focused on saving the buyer money through strong negotiations throughout the entire transaction; for homes listed in the MLS, the commission for the seller's agent and the buyer's agent is already built into the final price of the home. Perhaps, the home buyer doesn't need full service from their buyer's agent because they are willing to incur some of the legwork when shopping around or researching. In that case, a buyer's rebate at closing might be appropriate; this is merely a price reduction of buyer-agency services directly to the home buyer. While there is generally no direct cost to pay for a buyer's agent, the buyer bears some of the burden for real estate commissions through the price of the house, even though the seller appears to pay for it all.

Stephen Graham, Realtor®
Realty Professionals, Inc.
Buyer's Agent