Luxe Listings Sydney: which agent came out on top?

The second season of Australia’s jazziest luxury home show was a hit for Amazon. But how did its star agents fare?

A wealthy Sydneysider could soon see their home given the Luxe Listings treatment, as one of the Amazon Prime hit series’ stars puts her services up for auction at a charity dinner next week.

Star multinational real estate agent Monika Tu will auction off her luxury home-selling services to the highest bidder at a dinner to raise money for the Sydney Children’s Hospital on May 18.

The event comes one month after Ms Tu made her debut alongside luxury real estate agents and buyers D’Leanne Lewis, Gavin Rubinstein and Simon Cohen, in Luxe Listing Sydney’s long-awaited second season.

The popular show trails the buying and selling of luxury homes across Sydney’s eastern suburbs, north shore and as far south as Sylvania Waters.

“Black Diamondz is a business with a bit of a social responsibility and every year we will offer a service to charity,” Ms Tu said of the new endeavour. “After the auction I’ll go to work completely free.”

The generous offer arrives as Luxe Listings again topped the charts for Amazon Prime, a performance that surprises Ms Tu, who admits she didn’t believe the show would be as good as it is for business.

“It’s just a show, I’ve done a couple of others and you just get on there and you have a good time,” she said. “But yesterday I got stopped three times in George St from people who wanted to take a selfie. I don’t know whether they are my potential buyers but it’s all exposure.”

Ms Tu said the show was surprisingly well-received by international viewers, with a private screening of the show drawing more than 28,000 views on YouTube, the majority of whom were from Singapore.

Monika Tu of Black Diamondz Property.

“I wouldn’t say inquiries are through the roof but that’s because we don’t have enough listings. However, the off-market opportunities are definitely growing. This week we had five settlements,” Ms Tu said.

“We’re struggling a little bit with stock right now. I have 27 buyers looking for between $8m to $48m homes.”

Asked who was the real winner of the show, Ms Tu admits it might be the show’s youngest stars

“I think Gavin is such an ambitious agent and he’s grown his business. He’s only 30 something, almost half of my age,” she said.

“Simon was quite well known in the eastern suburbs but now he’s known as a personality to everyone.”

Ms Tu’s prediction does stack up. Construction is already underway on The Rubinstein Group’s second site in Sydney’s Rose Bay, about 5km from the flagship office.

“I’ve got enormous plans,” Mr Rubinstein said. “We’re at the very entrance. Our doors have been open two and a half years.

“I do want to actively recruit, however we’re very quick to make the necessary decisions we have to if someone is not the right fit.”

One person has passed the test however, and that is Sarah Myers. Ms Myers joins the agency as chief of staff from US-based real estate group Compass, with previous experience at PwC and Louis Vuitton.

Gavin Rubinstein of The Rubinstein Group.

Mr Rubinstein said the market was down a little compared to the first two seasons of Luxe Listings but it was still active.

“It’s a function of expectations, really,” he said.

“What I mean by that is there are lots and lots of buyers but some of the intensity is somewhat gone and if you’re not hitting the sweet spot with regard to price, you’re just not going to have a result.”

Asked what the show has done for his profile, Mr Rubinstein said it helped showcase the market he sells.

“I’ve said this a couple of times, I think the big star in the show is Sydney and it’s really great to see what Amazon did with such a beautiful city.

“I don’t think Sydney has been portrayed in the way that it is in Luxe Listings before,” he said.

“But definitely more opportunities have come my way since doing the show.”

On criticism of the show, Mr Rubinstein said he didn’t take any of it to heart.

“I didn’t ignorantly enter into it or agree to do it thinking every single person in the world was going to love me and the show. I think that would have been stupid,” he said.

Mansion had confirmed interviews with all stars of the show, however once Amazon Prime’s talent manager learned of the interviews, Ms Lewis and Mr Cohen promptly cancelled.

Amazon Prime said interviews had “wrapped” until season three airs later this year.

Michael Pallier, the director of Sotheby’s International Realty, who appears briefly in both seasons, was also tight-lipped despite several attempts from Mansion to interview him.

He promised the producers he wouldn’t comment on the show, he said. But the one thing he would say: “Business is the best it’s ever been.”