[Kihashi]

> A single agent handles everything, hired by the seller, and charges about 1.5% of sale fee + VAT (once haggled down).

That seems like there's a huge conflict of interest there. A buyer's agent isn't legally required in the US (and I've heard of people negotiating lower fees if there's no buyer's agent to share with), but I don't think I'd want to be in a situation where I, a layperson, am negotiating with a professional. The buyer's agent provides knowledge of the area (building materials, typical maintenance items and costs, how to make a competitive offer) and a non-emotional set of eyes to look at things.

Yes, they are incentivized to make a sale happen, but they make far more money in the long run with a happy client (who will refer others and ideally use them as a Seller's agent in the future).