In The News: Cohen Handler Canberra’s Alex Anlezark and James Meli on Why Buyers’ Agents Aren’t Just for the Top End Anymore
There’s a persistent assumption in Canberra real estate that buyers’ agents are a luxury — a service reserved for people spending $3 million on a house in Forrest or Griffith. Cohen Handler Canberra’s Alexander Anlezark and James Meli are proving otherwise, and a recent Region Canberra feature explored exactly that shift.
“We’re mythbusting the idea that buyer’s agents are only for rich investors,” Alex told Region Canberra.
The numbers tell the story. Approximately 90 per cent of Cohen Handler Canberra’s clients are owner-occupiers — professional families already living in the capital who are upgrading, downsizing, or buying their first family home. Not investors. Not prestige buyers. Families purchasing in what is comfortably Canberra’s most competitive price bracket.
The $800K to $1.2 Million Problem
If you’re a dual-income family trying to buy a house in Canberra right now, you already know how difficult the market has become in the sub-$1.2 million range.
House listings across the ACT remain 21 per cent below the five-year average. Total property listings have risen 53 per cent year on year, but that’s driven almost entirely by apartments — not the three- and four-bedroom family homes in established suburbs that most growing families are after. The result is an imbalanced market where the stock that families actually want attracts disproportionate competition.
Open homes in popular suburbs regularly draw dozens of buyers. For parents managing full-time work, school pickups, and weekend sport, the prospect of spending every Saturday inspecting five properties — only to be outbid at auction — is not just frustrating, it’s unsustainable.
Domain forecasts Canberra house prices will reach a record median of $1.18 million in 2026, up 5 per cent over the year. KPMG projects growth of 4.7 per cent. Every month a family spends searching is a month in which prices are moving further away from them.
Why Canberra’s Workforce Profile Makes This Worse
Canberra has a buyer profile unlike any other Australian capital. Public service accounts for 32.3 per cent of the city’s employment — the highest public sector concentration in the country, with 38 per cent of all Australian Public Service positions based in the ACT.
What this means in practice: a huge proportion of Canberra’s buyer pool are time-poor professionals with stable incomes, dual-income households with school-aged children, and limited flexibility during business hours. They have the borrowing capacity to buy. They don’t have the capacity to treat house-hunting like a second job.
That’s the gap a buyers’ agent in Canberra] fills, not just finding properties, but absorbing the entire search, inspection, assessment, and negotiation workload so buyers can focus on their jobs and families.
What a Construction Background Actually Gives You
One of the less obvious advantages of working with the Cohen Handler Canberra team is what happens before an offer is made.
James brings over 25 years of experience in Canberra’s construction and building inspection industry. He’s a licensed builder, building inspector, and building assessor. Alex has more than nine years in real estate with experience on both sides of the transaction.
“With my builder’s knowledge and Alex having experience on both sides of house sales, we’re uniquely positioned to handle due diligence,” James told Region Canberra.
In practical terms, that means every property is assessed for structural soundness, compliance, and renovation potential before a client commits. In a market where families are stretching their budgets to secure a home, discovering a $60,000 foundation problem after settlement isn’t just inconvenient. It’s financially devastating. Having a licensed builder evaluate every property before you bid removes that risk entirely.
This is the kind of professional due diligence that media outlets like *Region Canberra* highlight because it challenges the perception of what a Canberra buyers’ advocate actually does. It’s not just about finding a house. It’s about making sure the house you buy is worth buying.
Off-Market Access in a Low-Stock Market
When house supply is 21 per cent below average and every listed family home attracts a crowd, the properties that never make it to the public portals become critically important.
Access to off-market and pre-market listings is one of the core advantages of professional buyer representation. While most people buy three or four properties in a lifetime, James and Alex are securing that volume in a single week, which means they’re in constant contact with selling agents across Canberra, often hearing about properties before a campaign is even planned.
Since launching in October 2024, the Cohen Handler Canberra office has helped 70 clients secure homes across the region. That pace of activity generates its own momentum: the more properties a buyers’ agent transacts, the more selling agents bring them stock early.
For a family that’s been outbid three times and is running out of weekends, that network access can be the difference between finding the right home and settling for the wrong one.
What Canberra Buyers Should Be Thinking About Now
Canberra’s property market is forecast to hit record house price levels in 2026. Auction clearance rates have fluctuated between 49 and 63 per cent in early 2026, volatile enough that pricing has become hard to read, but strong enough in the family-home segment that well-located properties are still attracting multiple bidders.
Buyers who are serious about purchasing this year should be thinking about three things: getting access to stock before it hits the open market, ensuring robust building due diligence on every property, and having a negotiation strategy that accounts for the fact that vendors in this segment know exactly how limited their competition is.
A buyers’ agent doesn’t just help with one of those, they handle all three.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Canberra’s property market is forecast to reach record price levels in 2026, with Domain projecting house prices to rise 5 per cent to a median of $1.18 million. While competition for family homes remains strong, the current market still offers opportunities — particularly through off-market listings and professional negotiation. Engaging a buyers’ agent can help secure properties before broader price growth makes purchasing more difficult.
A buyers’ agent is a licensed real estate professional who works exclusively for the purchaser — not the seller. In Canberra, a buyers’ agent handles the full buying process: property search and shortlisting, suburb and property due diligence, building and structural assessments, auction bidding, and private treaty negotiation. They also provide access to off-market and pre-market listings that aren’t advertised on public property portals, which is particularly valuable in Canberra’s low-stock family home market.
Buyers’ agent fees in Canberra vary depending on the scope of service and the value of the property being purchased. Most agencies, including Cohen Handler, offer either a fixed fee or a percentage-based fee agreed upfront before any search begins. For many Canberra families, the savings achieved through professional negotiation, off-market access, and avoiding costly building defects more than offset the fee. Cohen Handler offers a free initial consultation to discuss your requirements.
No. Cohen Handler Canberra reports that approximately 90 per cent of their clients are owner-occupiers, with the majority being professional families purchasing in the $800,000 to $1.2 million range. Buyers’ agents work with first home buyers, upgraders, and families — not just high-end investors. The service is particularly valuable for time-poor buyers who can’t attend multiple inspections each week or who want professional due diligence on what is often their largest financial commitment.
Family-friendly suburbs in Canberra that consistently attract strong buyer demand include Weston Creek, Woden Valley, Belconnen, and the Inner South. These areas offer proximity to schools, green spaces, and transport links. However, the best suburb for any buyer depends on individual priorities including budget, commute requirements, school catchments, and lifestyle preferences. A Canberra buyers’ agent can help identify suburbs that match your specific criteria and assess which properties offer genuine long-term value.
Yes. Access to off-market and pre-market listings is one of the key advantages of working with Cohen Handler’s Canberra team. In a market where house listings are 21 per cent below the five-year average, off-market access significantly expands the pool of available properties. Cohen Handler’s Alex and James have established networks across Canberra’s real estate community, enabling them to source properties before they reach the public market.