Property is our passion, people are our priority
About Sterling Property Buyers
A boutique buyer’s agency that’s actually boutique.
BOUTIQUE Buyer’s Agent
Our Story
We achieved financial independence through property. That’s not a tagline — it’s the reason this business exists. Having done it ourselves, we’d rather spend our time helping other people do the same than chase volume.
Sterling Property Buyers is led by Barney Ellevsen and a small, hands-on family team of area specialists, based on the NSW South Coast and the Sydney Northern Beaches. We specialise in two things: helping homebuyers secure a place in tightly-held markets — the northern beaches of Wollongong, the Greater Illawarra and Sydney’s Northern Beaches — and helping investors anywhere in Australia buy high performing, high-growth property.
When you engage us, you work with us — not a sub-contracted agent. That’s the whole point of boutique.
Meet the Team
Barney Ellevsen
Founder and ceo
Thirty years a property investor and educator (including six years as a high-school principal). Barney has bought and held across the lot — residential, commercial, house-and-land, renovations, duplexes, student accommodation, short-stay/Airbnb, off-the-plan, joint ventures, multi-tenancy and mixed-use. He’s built a multi-million-dollar portfolio yielding a six-figure passive income, and he’s a licensed real estate agent and member of the Real Estate Institute of NSW.
Zacariah Ellevsen
Associate Director
Sydney Northern Beaches and Nationwide Property Investor Specialist
Our specialist on the ground across Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with the local knowledge and agent relationships that get clients in front of the right properties first — including the ones that never reach the portals. Zacariah is a licensed real estate agent and member of the Real Estate Institute of NSW.
Ruth Ellevsen
Director | Chief Operations Officer
Wollongong and Illawarra Specialist
More than five decades in Wollongong’s northern suburbs and a genuine passion for helping first-home buyers and women investors take a confident first step into the market. Patient, plain-spoken guidance, with deep roots in the local community. Ruth has been investing in property for over 30 years and brings a wealth of knowledge to the table for investors and home buyers alike. Ruth is a licensed real estate agent and member of the Real Estate Institute of NSW.
Jai Ellevsen
associate agent
Buyers Agent Wollongong and Illawarra Specialist
Hands-on local expertise across Wollongong and the surrounding suburbs, with the relationships and market knowledge to secure homes in one of the South Coast’s most tightly-held pockets. Jai is a licensed real estate agent and member of the Real Estate Institute of NSW.
ILLAWARRA PROPERTY BUYERS AGENT
Buying a home in Wollongong’s northern suburbs – “The right property at the right price”
The northern suburbs run a 25-kilometre coastal strip — roughly 20 suburbs from Fairy Meadow up to Stanwell Park, taking in beachside favourites like Bulli, Thirroul and Austinmer. Beaches, cycleways, mountain tracks, great cafes and an hour’s drive to Sydney: it’s no wonder demand has only climbed for two decades.
It’s also fiercely competitive. Plenty of homes sell off-market and never reach the portals, and the ones that do are often gone in days. To win here you really need someone in the area, with the relationships, representing you on the ground. That’s us — we’ve lived and bought here for more than twenty years.
NORTHERN BEACHES BUYERS AGENT
Buying a home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches – “The right property at the right price”
The Northern Beaches run around 30 kilometres of coastline, from Manly in the south up to Palm Beach in the north — a string of beachside suburbs taking in favourites like Freshwater, Dee Why, Collaroy, Mona Vale and Avalon. Surf breaks, headland walks, leafy reserves, a thriving cafe scene and a ferry ride to the CBD: it’s one of the most sought-after lifestyle pockets in the country, and it’s tightly held.
It’s also fiercely competitive. The best homes go fast, and a large share sell off-market — quietly, through agent relationships, and never reach the portals. To compete here you really need someone embedded in the area, with the relationships, representing you on the ground. That’s where Zacariah comes in — our Northern Beaches specialist knows the streets, the agents and the value, and gets our clients in front of the right properties first.
INVESTMENT PROPERTY BUYERS AGENT
Buying a quality investment property
Buying an investment is the opposite of buying a home. A home is emotional. An investment is a numbers decision — made coolly, on the data.
Most people get this wrong. They end up heavily negatively geared in a weak location, with a property that drains their income every month and offers little hope of growth. We aim for the reverse: property that is affordable to hold, in a location with genuine fundamentals for capital growth — and, ideally, room to add value through subdivision, a granny flat or a cosmetic renovation.
We assess every market on 20+ metrics — sales volumes, vacancy rates, rental yields, rental growth, vendor discounting, days on market, clearance rates, supply-and-demand ratios and more — backed by monthly and quarterly reports covering every capital city and regional market in the country. It’s expensive data the public rarely sees, and it’s how we point clients at locations built to grow.
A quick reality check we give every client: this is a long game. Plan to hold 7–10 years. We’re property experts, not financial advisers — so we’ll always encourage you to loop in your accountant on strategy.
