858 Sydney | A Private Buyer’s Practice for Overseas & Relocating Buyers

Why a buyer's practice

The market has a seller's side.We are the other one.

Every agent, portal and price you meet in Sydney is paid to serve the seller. To own the right place — at the right price, and from a distance — you need someone whose only duty is to you.

Independent, by mandate

We work only for buyers, take no commission from any seller, and disclose in writing any referral or commission we may earn.

Local eyes, off-market reach

We know the listing agents by name, walk the streets ourselves, and open doors — pre-market and silent — that no portal will ever show you.

Built for buying at a distance

Inspect by live video, plan your negotiation and bidding, coordinate funds across borders, and stay across it all remotely — your interests looked after whether you're awake or asleep.

Who we act for

Four Profilesclosely related, carefully chosen

We do not take on every buyer. Our work is sharpest for the four situations below — from a single considered purchase to a portfolio built over years.

A character family home on Sydney's Lower North Shore

— Relocating

Arriving Executives

Senior professionals moving to Sydney from established careers abroad — with family, a school-age timeline, and months between the decision and the keys. A life being rebuilt.

— Investing

Overseas Investors

Established buyers acquiring Sydney property from abroad — for yield, growth, or family still to come. Capital deployed well into a market they cannot walk themselves.

— Securing a base

A Sydney Base

Overseas families securing a foothold ahead of a future move, for a child's education, or as a considered second home. Held now, lived in later — chosen with the same care as a first home.

— Building

The Portfolio Builder

Residents and 858-visa holders turning one Sydney purchase into a base of assets — using equity and a staged plan to build wealth over years, in a market that has rewarded patience. Not a single deal, but a decade.

Illustrative scenarios

The shape of the work.On the buyer's terms.

Illustrative scenarios — not actual transactions or clients. Each shows how a brief becomes a considered purchase, often from a distance.

Mosman · Family home

4-bed on the Lower North Shore

The kind of brief we build for an executive relocating from Singapore — off-market research, inspected by video.

Off-market, from a distance

Surry Hills · Investment

Two-bed apartment, blue-chip yield

How we would approach a yield-focused brief for an investor buying from abroad — finance, FX and FIRB coordinated.

Numbers-first, risk assessed

Chatswood · Education base

Apartment near the university corridor

A base researched for a family whose child studies in Sydney — held with a future move in mind.

Pre-market — never publicly listed

Bondi · Returning family

Semi, walk to the beach

How we would support a family returning from London — brief, shortlist and a plan for a competitive campaign.

Prepared for a fast campaign

Portfolio · Staged over years

One apartment today, a base of three within a decade

How we would map a portfolio for a resident or 858-visa holder — a first purchase chosen for yield and growth, then equity recycled into the next, with borrowing capacity and NSW land tax modelled from property one. Sequenced deliberately, each purchase independently advised.

Sequenced & independently advised

Illustrative scenarios only, to show how we work — not actual transactions, outcomes or clients.

How it works · Three movements

From briefto keys in hand

One engagement letter, one principal accountable end to end. You are never handed between departments.

Brief

A sixty-minute conversation and a written brief — goals, budget, timeline, non-negotiables. If we're not the right fit, we say so and point you elsewhere.

ii.

Search

On- and off-market. We inspect for you, report each week, and walk you through by live video. A short, reasoned shortlist — and the discipline to say no.

iii.

Settle

We brief your licensed agent, conveyancer and lender, coordinate FIRB and insurance, and keep the timeline moving through to the keys — one accountable point of contact.

Beyond a single purchase

Own one address.Or build a portfolio.

For many of our clients, the first Sydney purchase is the start of a base — not the end of it. We run the property strategy behind a portfolio, and coordinate the licensed team around it.

Equity, put to work

The equity in what you already own becomes the deposit for the next purchase — so the base compounds without fresh cash each time.

Capacity & land tax, modelled

Borrowing capacity is the real ceiling and NSW land tax the silent cost. We model both from property one, so the portfolio compounds rather than bleeds.

Sequenced, on your side only

A staged, multi-year plan — each purchase a full buyer's-advisory engagement, with your broker, accountant and adviser coordinated, not replaced.

Why Sydney

A portfolio only compounds if the market beneath it does. Sydney's has — over the long run, and through the cycles.

~7%

Average annual capital growth in Sydney housing over recent decades.

~95%

Growth in Sydney's median house price over the past ten years.

~3×

Roughly how much the median has grown over the past twenty years.

4–6%

Typical gross rental yields on well-placed apartments and townhouses.

Indicative market figures drawn from CoreLogic, Domain and industry data, current as at 2026 and rounded. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results, and forecasts vary. This is general market information only — not financial, investment or tax advice.

Explore portfolio building →

Property strategy only — buyer-only, and not financial or tax advice. Anything involving structures, lending or superannuation is handled by the licensed professionals we coordinate.

The full engagement

Everything ownership takes.Handled.

Eight disciplines under one roof — one firm, one bill, no party in the middle. Expand any to see exactly what we carry.

Before a single property — the shape of the purchase.

Goals, budget & true borrowing capacity
Non-negotiables and deal-breakers, in writing
Full cost map — stamp duty, FIRB, legal, taxes
Timeline built around your move or your funds
A written brief that governs every shortlist
For offshore buyers, mapped before you commit

A view of the market — not a portal export.

School catchments & academic reputation
Transit, commute and walkability
Flood, bushfire and easement exposure
Growth history, rental yield, vacancy
On-the-ground texture from walking the streets
Three-to-five suburbs, each with reasoning

The heart of the practice. We do the research — you do not.

On-market monitoring across every agency
Pre-market previews through agents we know by name
Off-market and silent listings you'd never see
In-person inspections, detailed written reports
Live video walkthroughs for offshore clients
A curated shortlist each week — not a firehose

What it is likely worth, and what could go wrong.

Independent price opinion vs the asking price, from comparable sales
Building & pest, arranged and read
Strata review — levies, disputes, sinking fund
Contract review with your solicitor
Comparable sales & capital-growth modelling
An honest recommendation — including "walk away"

We prepare the plan; a licensed buyer's agent you engage runs the negotiation or bid.

A private-treaty negotiation plan for the licensed agent
An auction and bidding plan, with a set ceiling
Pre-auction and conditional offer strategy
Terms as well as price — settlement, conditions
We never advise a bid above our price opinion. By design.
Your interests looked after, awake or asleep

The money — lent and moved, across borders.

Expat & non-resident mortgage specialists
Non-resident lending limits and LVR, explained
Foreign-exchange to move funds efficiently
FIRB application prepared and lodged
Australian bank account & structure setup
Specialists execute; we hold the timeline

Eight parties, one timeline, one point of contact.

Conveyancer liaison and timeline oversight
FIRB compliance through to completion
Exchange, deposit and cooling-off tracked with your solicitor
Building insurance bound at exchange
Pre-settlement inspection coordinated
Utilities and handover coordinated with your conveyancer

After settlement, we remain.

Move-in concierge & school placement (families)
Introductions to leasing & tenant selection
Introductions to property management & renewals
Maintenance and repairs coordinated
Remote-owner reporting — statements, inspections, photos
One point of contact for the life of the asset

Illustrative

Built for distance.

Illustrative scenarios — not actual clients or testimonials.

A family buying in Mosman without flying over — research done, every step guided, and kept informed right through to handover.

Relocating executiveIllustrative scenario

An advisor willing to say when not to buy — genuinely on the buyer's side, not the seller's.

Property investorIllustrative scenario

Every cost disclosed up front — no surprises when you are eight thousand kilometres from the market.

Returning familyIllustrative scenario

Engagement

Two waysof working with us

Scoped on enquiry. Agreed in writing. No commission from any seller. Any referral we earn from is disclosed.

— Engagement One

Core

Full buyer's advisory, end to end.

Buyer profiling & written brief
Suburb intelligence & on-the-ground inspection
Sourcing — on-market, pre-market & off-market
In-person property inspections
Detailed photo sets & video walkthroughs
Property history — sales, price & ownership record
Building, pest & strata inspection
Insurance & risk inspection
Independent price opinion & comparable sales
Contract review with your solicitor
Negotiation & bidding plan (run by a licensed agent)
Finance, FX & FIRB coordination
Settlement coordination
Thirty-day post-settlement support

A fixed engagement fee, scoped on enquiry, agreed before any work begins.

— Engagement Two

Plus

Buyer's advisory with a six-month relocation concierge.

Everything in Core, plus

School research, application & placement
Interim rental where needed
Utilities, healthcare & banking setup
Driver's licence & vehicle support
Tax-structuring introductions
A named point-of-contact for six months
Continuity into property management

For families relocating with children, or anyone needing coordination beyond the purchase.

Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and the Bridge from a residential vantage

The practice

A practice,not an agency.

The hardest part of buying in Sydney is rarely the money. It is the distance — from the market, its vocabulary, and everyone in it whose interests are not your own.

858 Sydney exists to close that distance. We work only in the buyer's interest, never the seller's. We hold a hard cap on concurrent searches, so no engagement is ever one of many. We disclose, in writing, any commission or referral we may earn. And we tell clients when to walk away — sometimes, when not to buy at all.

— Named for the visa that inspired the practice; today we advise established overseas buyers of Sydney property, whatever their reason for buying.

Buyer-onlyWe never act for a seller

DisclosedEvery commission, in writing

IndependentYour interests, only

Common questions

Buying in Sydney,answered plainly.

An independent buyer’s advisory practice for Sydney property — for people acquiring it from a distance. The questions we’re asked most.

Do I need a buyer’s agent in Sydney — and what does 858 Sydney do?

858 Sydney is an independent buyer’s advisory practice — we work only in your interest, never the seller’s. We research the market, identify on-market and off-market options, inspect and report, form an independent price opinion from comparable sales, and prepare your negotiation and auction plan. We coordinate finance, FIRB, conveyancing and settlement, and keep you informed. We are not a licensed real estate agency: the licensed acts — negotiating, bidding and transacting as your agent — are carried out by a licensed buyer’s agent or your solicitor, whom you engage. We take no commission from any seller.

Can I buy property in Sydney from overseas?

Yes. Foreign buyers can purchase Australian residential property subject to FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) approval. 858 Sydney coordinates FIRB, finance, foreign exchange, building and pest, and conveyancing end to end, and inspects on your behalf with live video walkthroughs — so you can buy without setting foot in the country.

What is the 858 visa, and do you only work with 858-visa holders?

The 858 visa is Australia’s Global Talent (Distinguished Talent) permanent visa. The practice is named for it, but we work with any established overseas or interstate buyer of Sydney property — relocating executives, investors buying from abroad, and families securing a base — whatever brought you to Sydney.

I’m relocating to Sydney with my family — can you help beyond the purchase?

Yes. Alongside the property search we help with suburb selection, school catchments, interim rental, and the practical side of settling in, so the move and the purchase progress together rather than one holding up the other.

How do you help investors buying Sydney property from abroad?

We build the brief around numbers and risk — yield, capital-growth modelling, comparables and due diligence — research pre-market and off-market options, prepare a disciplined negotiation plan (to an independent price assessment), and coordinate finance, FX, FIRB and introductions to tenanting and management, so capital is deployed well into a market you cannot walk yourself.

How do you charge — and do you take commission from sellers?

Never. We are buyer-only and take no seller commissions. Our fee is a fixed engagement fee, scoped on enquiry and agreed in writing before any work begins. Any referral or commission we may earn is disclosed, in writing, before you engage.

Which parts of Sydney do you cover?

All of metropolitan Sydney — from the Lower North Shore and Eastern Suburbs to the Inner West and beyond — matched to your brief and budget rather than a patch we happen to be selling.

Own your SpaceinSydney