Darren Piper had been working as a sales agent in Brisbane’s New Farm and Tenerife area for about two years, but meeting some buyer’s agents piqued his interest.
“I’d actually met a buyer’s agent or two being on the sales side, and that’s what sparked the interest to become a buyer’s agent,” Darren said.
“I ultimately went on a holiday for two and a half weeks, and it is all I thought about. Literally, just every day away, I just thought about this buyer’s agent space.”
When he returned in September-October 2016, Darren made the decision to quit selling and started Universal Buyer’s Agents. This October will mark ten years in business.
Taking a calculated risk
At the time, the buyer’s agent industry was tiny, with only around 500 to 600 agents nationally.
“The space couldn’t really get any smaller,” Darren said.
“So I always just had a feeling that it was always going to sort of grow and be a part of what we do and become more of the norm.”
With no kids and no mortgage at the time, Darren felt he had nothing to lose.
“I thought, why not have a red hot crack? I’ve got sort of nothing to lose. Glad I made that decision almost ten years ago.”
From mines to real estate
Before entering the industry in 2014, Darren was working in the mines.
“A very close friend of mine kept saying to me, ‘You’ll be good at real estate. Should get into it’,” he said.
“She sort of subtly forced my hand, to be brutally honest.”
He started with a local independent in the New Farm Tenerife area before being poached by a larger franchise.
Navigating a different landscape
The buyer’s agent industry in 2016 was vastly different from today and Darren recalls the challenges of operating in such a niche space.
“The common conversation as a buyer’s agent in 2016 when calling a sales agent, you’d always get ‘I’m not sharing my commission’,” he said.
“There was a big unknown because it was so small back then. The awareness and education layer was the huge gaping hole because there were so few buyer’s agents.”
Building a comprehensive service
Today, Universal Buyer’s Agents is a team of 14 people based in Newstead, servicing Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast.
The business handles a diverse client base, split roughly 50-50 between investors and owner-occupiers.
“If the client needs help and we can help them, we’ll help them,” Darren said.
The business also operates Universal Rentals, making them one of the very few buyer’s agencies that handle property management in-house rather than outsourcing.
“It’s all under one roof with us,” he said.
Keys to success
Darren attributes his longevity in the industry to resilience and adaptability.
“You see a lot of people in real estate as a whole that probably get rattled a little bit too quickly when the market changes,” he said.
“Real estate’s a tough space, but if you persevere at it, you can certainly enjoy the fruits and the labour. It’s time in market that’s a big factor.”
He points to navigating challenges like COVID and recent budget changes affecting the investor market as examples of the need to adapt and evolve.
Approaching major milestones
Universal Buyer’s Agents is on the verge of significant achievements. Within the next week or two, the business expects to crack over 1,000 purchases and reach $1 billion in total purchases.
The team is also striving to become the highest-rated buyer’s agency in Southeast Queensland.
“I think that holds a lot of weight because that doesn’t happen overnight, and we’re proud of that,” Darren said.
Quality over quantity
Looking ahead, Darren has no plans to become the biggest buyer’s agency – his focus is on quality.
“Our business model isn’t necessarily bigger, bigger, bigger. It’s quality,” he said.
“My whole philosophy is a smaller team of high-performing agents than twice the head count with people that probably aren’t doing as well.”
Embracing industry growth
The buyer’s agent industry has grown exponentially since Darren entered it, with numbers now estimated at 5,000 to 6,000 nationally – a tenfold increase in ten years.
While some established buyer’s agents view the influx of competition negatively, Darren sees it as positive for the industry.
“There are a lot of buyer’s agents out there that hate the amount of competition entering. I think it’s a great thing for what we do because it just sheds more light on the service even existing,” he said.
“It’s more eyeballs, more leads and business opportunity.”
He’s also supportive of new platforms like buyersagent.com.au that help promote the industry.
“On the sales side, there’s rate my agent, local agent finder, REA profiles – every platform possible. That doesn’t exist on our side or hasn’t up until these guys have launched this,” Darren said.
“I’m all for it. I think it’s a great idea.”
As Universal Buyer’s Agents approaches its tenth anniversary, Darren’s pioneering spirit and commitment to quality service continue to drive the business forward in an industry he helped shape.
Buyersagents.com.au is proud to support the professional growth of buyer agent Darren Piper via a platform to connect them with more buyers. Discover more at Buyersagents.com.au.