Buying a House Without a Buyer's Agent: Smart or Risky?
Reading time 5 minutes
Rico Nederveen
27 January 2026
More and more people are choosing to buy a home without a buying agent. This can save thousands of euros, but only if you know what you are doing. Buying without professional guidance also means taking full responsibility yourself.
According to figures published a few years ago in the AD, as many as around 70% of homebuyers purchased a property without a buying agent. This shows that it is no longer an exception, but a conscious choice. The question is simply: when is this a sensible decision, and where do you need to be extra alert?
What does a buying agent normally do for you?
Searching for and identifying suitable properties
Attending viewings and providing an objective assessment
Estimating the market value
Advising on the offer and bidding strategy
Negotiating with the selling agent
Reviewing documents and the purchase agreement
Calculate bid
Check if your bid is strong enough without a mortgage broker for just € 89.-
Why are more and more people buying without a buying agent?
One important reason is the cost. In the Netherlands, a buying agent quickly costs several thousand euros. Some agents work with a fixed fee of roughly € 1,500 to € 3,500, while others charge a percentage of the purchase price, usually between 1% and 2%. For a home priced at
€ 400,000, this already amounts to € 4,000 to € 8,000 in costs. In the Randstad, these fees are generally higher than in other regions, partly due to higher house prices and stronger demand.
In addition, many homebuyers consciously choose to first try buying a property on their own, without a buying agent. If that does not work out, professional guidance can always be brought in later. That threshold is relatively low, while the potential savings are substantial.
The search process itself has also changed. In the past, a buying agent clearly had an advantage when it came to finding suitable properties. Today, many buyers closely monitor the market themselves. With alerts on platforms such as Funda based on price, location, and property characteristics, new listings are often spotted immediately. As a result, the added value of a buying agent mainly lies in properties that are (not yet) listed on Funda but still match the buyer’s preferences.
All of this explains why more and more people are choosing to handle the purchasing process themselves.
The biggest risk: determining the right price yourself
One of the most difficult aspects of buying without a buying agent is determining a good offer. The asking price says little about what a property will ultimately sell for, especially in a competitive market.
Many buyers base their offer on intuition, comparable properties on Funda, or stories from friends. This often leads to two common mistakes:
Bidding too low and repeatedly missing out
Bidding too high without knowing whether that was actually necessary
Without a proper frame of reference, it is difficult to assess what makes an offer “smart”: not only high enough to win, but also not higher than necessary.
Negotiating with the selling agent: unequal interests
An important insight that is often underestimated: the selling agent works for the seller, not for you. Their interest is to achieve the highest possible selling price under favourable conditions for the seller.
Without a buying agent, you are facing this as a private individual. That does not have to be a problem, but it does mean that:
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Information is not always complete or neutral
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Strategic hints often favour the seller
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You must assess for yourself how much room there really is
This is precisely where inexperienced buyers often make decisions based on assumptions.
What you need to manage extra carefully without a buying agent
If you buy without professional guidance, it is wise to pay extra attention to:
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Assessing contingency clauses
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Understanding clauses such as age clauses or non-owner-occupancy clauses
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Assessing risks when bidding without conditions
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Separating emotion from strategy
These are not insurmountable issues, but mistakes are often costly and irreversible.
And what if you do have a buying agent?
Even then, additional information is not redundant. A buying agent remains human: experienced, but also guided by assumptions and limited comparison possibilities.
An increasing body of research shows that machine-learning models can often estimate property values more accurately than traditional, simpler calculation methods, precisely because they combine large volumes of data and detect patterns that are difficult for humans to see.
A data-driven analysis can therefore serve as a second opinion—not to replace your agent, but to better test and validate his or her advice.
How SlimBieden helps with this
Whether you are buying without a buying agent or with one: SlimBieden helps you make better-informed decisions. Not by telling you what you must bid, but by providing insight into:
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The bid our model considers the smartest
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Four concrete bidding strategies, from cautious to knockout
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How your chance of success changes per strategy and bid amount
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Comparable recent sales in the area, including price per m² and level of overbidding
This allows you to make decisions based on data rather than solely on gut feeling.
Conclusion: saving money is possible, but not without preparation
Buying a home without a buying agent can be financially attractive and works perfectly well for many people. But it does require you to be critical yourself, understand the risks, and above all: know how strong your offer really is.
It is precisely at this point that additional insight is indispensable: so that you can submit the best possible offer with confidence: not higher than necessary, but strong enough to win.
