Do you really need an agent if you are buying direct from the developer?

Thats the beauty of it, you don't actually need an agent if you are buying direct from the developer.

Of course, if buying resale, you would then need one. The agent, whether local or otherwise will handle everything for you.

Its actually better to just have one agent else you have to pay multiple levels of commissions. As it is, for the agent i used, i have to pay them 1% of the total