Cohen found the buyer for Alcooringa, a trophy home that sold for $80m in Bellevue Hill in August.

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One of the nation’s biggest dealmakers, who made more than $1.6bn in purchases for his clients this year, has some sage advice for buyers in 2025.

“Watch the market — there will be deals to be had, so make sure you make the most of those opportunities,” said buyer’s agent Simon Cohen, whose company Cohen Handler has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Cohen, who starred in the reality TV show Luxe Listings Sydney a few years back, says property prices are softening for homes priced up to $20m and what happens in 2025 is “entirely dependent on interest rates”.

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Simon Cohen as he appeared in Luxe Listings Sydney.

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Cohen was involved in the $43.5m deal on Monkton at 53-55 Cranbrook Rd, Bellevue Hill, Sydney, in September.

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With the RBA keeping interest rates remaining on hold for the ninth straight meeting, most experts are now saying a rate cut may not come until May.

“Buyers are more cautious and price sensitive … market should be thinking ‘what should I pay’ rather than what it takes to secure it,” Cohen said.

“Make sure you get it for the right price and if it’s not gonna go crazy, understand what it’s worth and why.”

Cohen says the $20m+ market, which he commonly deals in, continues to be strong.

He’d personally been involved in some of the nation’s biggest house deals over 2024, including food blogger Stephanie Conley-Buhre’s $80m sale of the Victoria Rd Spanish Mission-style residence Alcooringa in August (Third top house sale natonally for 2024, introducing expat buyer Hannah Edwards); Conley-Buhre’s purchase of Monkton in Cranbrook Rd, Bellevue Hill for $43.5m in September (No.6) and the $42m sale of EverBlu Capita founder Adam Blumenthal and his wife Annabelle Shamir’s residence last month (No.8), also in Victoria Rd.

Monkton was designed by Epie Dodds.

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It features this stunning pool.

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“Top-end Sydney prestige property continues to be a safe place to put your money,” says Cohen.

“If you get a place with views, or on the waterfront, it’s rare property that will always go up in value.”

But he says it’s not just Sydney’s top-end homes that are highly sought after.

“We’ve seen records broken in Sydney, but also Brisbane,” he said.

Cohen’s colleague at the Cohen Handler Brisbane office, Jordan Navybox, introduced the buyer to the luxury home of commercial builder Brett Walker at 32 Sutherland Ave, Ascot, that last month sold for $23m.

This house at 32 Sutherland Ave, Ascot, sold for a Brisbane record of $23m in November. Image supplied.

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The home before its $7m renovation.

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The residence had undergone a $7m reno since being bought for $10m in 2021.

“The Brisbane market is maturing, we’re seeing a lot of external money coming into Brisbane and the calibre of architecture is improving.”

Meanwhile, Nicole Jacobs, who operates the CohenHandler Melbourne office, says she’s on the hunt for good deals for clients there.

“A lot of vendors are holding on, they don’t need to sell, they’re just waiting to get their price,” Jacobs says.

“And buyers are waiting for the right property — if they see value, they’re buying it.”