The haul of awards, titles and number 1 rankings that Elliott Placks has accumulated over 20 years in real estate is impressive. But it’s also at odds with his personality, so he’ll be the last to tell you about them.

Understated, analytical and typifying family values, Elliott has been the agent of choice for sellers of some of the most tightly-held family estates and coveted waterfront assets in Sydney’s east.

His discreet nature and negotiating expertise are central to his successes, which include negotiating one of the highest value residential sales in Australia’s history, totalling $80million. He is a believer that it requires entrepreneurialism to adapt a sales campaign as it progresses in order to expose homes to the widest possible range of buyers, and create competition, to achieve a premium price.

Elliott has been repeatedly ranked as the top international business owner in the largest real estate network in the southern hemisphere, Ray White. Perhaps it's in his blood. He was raised on the Lower North Shore by a mum who was renowned as a leading real estate agent in the prestige market along the North Shore.

Elliott is proud to have attended Masada and then Moriah College before studying Commerce at Macquarie University. As a young man, Elliott travelled Europe extensively before returning home to start his career, initially canvassing new clients for established agents. This experience exposed a talent for connecting with home owners and buyers. Interestingly, he spent two of those early years as the assistant to a well-regarded eastern suburbs agent, Kim Hayes. Hayes now works in the business Elliott owns.

In Elliott’s very first year as a standalone agent, he sold more property than the other 23 agents in the office. Under the Ray White umbrella, of several thousands of agents, he was ranked as the third strongest salesperson in the state.

Elliot made headlines with his sale of an amalgamated land holding of four waterfront properties on Coolong Road in Vaucluse. The 4,250sqm was purchased for circa $80m and was, until recently, the highest price paid in Australia for a residential land holding.

His name appeared in the international press again after selling one of Point Piper’s largest private landholdings, 19-21 Wentworth Street for $30.5m. In the same suburb, he sold 114 Wolseley Road to an international buyer for $28m, and nearby 158 Wolseley Road for $21m.

His major sales in Vaucluse include the waterfront 1A Loch Maree Place for $29.5m and 20A Vaucluse Road for $26.5m, while his best known Bellevue Hill sale is 14 Ginahgulla Road for $21.25m.

Fair pricing appraisals and smart campaigns are Elliott’s trademark. He has a laser focus on the sales outcome for his clients. In the eastern suburbs, nearly 30 percent of prestige properties fail to sell during the initial campaign. For sellers, an unsuccessful campaign damages the market perception of their property, wasting time and money. Elliott prioritises analysis and honest market feedback to devise a sales campaign and pricing strategy that achieves maximum interest to drive a result during this initial campaign phase.

A community-minded businessman, Elliott is a generous supporter of key organisations including JCA, UIA, Red Cross, The Sony Foundation. He is also involved in a giving circle, which supports seed investments into emerging charities.

Simon Spicer

Sales & Leasing Associate to Zorick Toltsan