How Smart Buyer's Agents Are Finding Properties Before Everyone Else

The inside story on why some buyer’s agents always seem to have the best properties

Ever wondered how some buyer’s agents always seem to have the perfect off-market or pre-market property lined up while everyone else is still refreshing the portals? It’s not luck. It’s process, and it starts before listings hit the major sites.

The Reality Check Most Agents Don’t Want to Face

Let’s be honest about what’s happening in Australia right now:

• Off-market and pre-market is a meaningful slice of the market. There’s no single national dataset, but industry estimates commonly cite around 1 in 5 sales happening off-market or pre-market. Even Listing Loop (an off-market platform) puts it at ~20% and notes the true figure is hard to measure because many transactions never appear publicly.

• There is a “pre-portal” pipeline. Agents can market properties to registered buyers before public launch via tools like Domain Early Access and realestate.com.au’s “Coming Soon” product for pre-market exposure. These are official products built for early-stage campaigns.

• Speed matters. Days-on-market data shows typical campaigns run in weeks, not months, and a lot of buyer attention concentrates early in a campaign, so being first in line is an edge.

Bottom line: if you only watch Domain and realestate.com.au, you’re joining the queue late, often after earlier-access buyers have already enquired.

So Where Are The Good Properties Hiding?

There’s a whole pipeline that exists before a listing becomes widely visible on the big portals:

• Agency websites and databases. Many agencies soft-launch to their buyer lists, websites and socials before (or alongside) the portals, and run pre-market campaigns to test pricing and build momentum.

• Purpose-built early-access platforms. Buyers and agents use Listing Loop and Property Whispers to match with off-market and pre-market stock. If you’re not plugged into these channels, you’ll miss a chunk of opportunities.

• Portal pre-launch products. As above, Domain Early Access and REA “Coming Soon” create a formal pre-launch window where serious buyers are alerted first.

The Manual Approach Is Killing Your Week

Manually checking dozens (or hundreds) of agency sites, scanning pre-market products, and keeping up with agent call-backs is a time tax that compounds every week, especially across multiple suburbs. Even if you grind it out, you simply can’t monitor every update, every hour, without help.

How The Smart Agents Do It Differently

The buyer’s agents who consistently surface better properties aren’t working harder; they’re working earlier and more systematically:

• Automated monitoring. Instead of spot-checking 50 sites once a day, they monitor hundreds of agency websites and early-access channels on a schedule (for example, hourly) and receive instant alerts when something relevant appears.

• Systematised agent relationships. They don’t rely on memory for follow-ups. They run a simple, professional cadence so key selling agents see them as reliable, and call them first when a quiet listing fits.

• First dibs, consistently. Once you’re the dependable “yes-agent” with ready buyers, the calls come earlier. It snowballs.

A Real-World Pattern

“Sarah” (name changed) works Sydney’s inner west. She used to juggle manual searches and ad-hoc calls, routinely missing early windows. After automating early-stage discovery and adding a light-touch agent follow-up cadence, she spends more time on clients and negotiations and wins more of the pre-market opportunities that never make a splash online.

The Tools That Make The Difference (and what Open BA actually does)

You don’t need to become a coder. You need tooling that removes the time tax and expands your coverage:

• Automated website and channel monitoring. Open BA continuously checks selected agency websites and pre-market channels in your target areas. When a new property page or price guide appears, you get a near real-time alert with link, basics, and agent contacts.

• Simple, professional agent follow-up. Keep yourself top of mind without the stress. Maintain a light cadence, log notes, and trigger reminders so key agents hear from you regularly (and appropriately).

• Smart matching to buyer briefs. Save client criteria once. Open BA scores new opportunities against those briefs so you can prioritise what to call on today.

• Streamlined Client communications. Simple way to share the properties you have selected to your clients, get feedback and stay on the loop.

Why This Matters Even More In Australia

Unlike the US, Australia doesn’t have a single, universal MLS. Our system is portal-led with REA and Domain dominant and vendor-paid advertising, which means agents control when and how a property is surfaced. There are structured ways to promote before a full public campaign. That creates opportunities for buyer’s agents who can plug into the pre-portal stage.

And portals themselves have leaned into pre-market with products like Domain Early Access and REA Coming Soon, making early access a feature, not an exception.

The Bottom Line

The buyer’s agents who keep finding the best properties aren’t magicians; they’ve just stopped trying to manually do what technology does better. Automate discovery, systematise relationships, and show up earlier in the pipeline, before the crowd.

Want to see it in action?
Open BA was built for Australian buyer’s agents who want more coverage, earlier alerts, and better conversations with selling agents without 15 hours of manual checking a week. Book a demo at openba.com.au and see how agents are getting in front of the right properties sooner.