Making the cut: Sydney property agent Georgia Cleary on how she shapes her career (and her garden)

Want your garden hedge trimmed to look like a sphere or a quadrahedron? Georgia Cleary of BradfieldCleary is your woman.

Each Sunday you’ll find Georgia in her designer gardening garb, snipping away in the backyard creating geometric shapes.

A real estate agent for almost 30 years, Georgia lives in Woollahra with her son, Harry, and a Burmese cat called Frankie.

Do you have a favourite Sydney garden?

Yeah, mine. I live in Woollahra in a little Georgian house with a very big garden. It’s quite parterre, lots of topiary and hedging and roses, and quite structured. I do the topiary myself. It’s all spheres and cones, and a lot of clouds.

Living in Woollahra, I bet you have a designer garden outfit.

(Laughs) I do, actually. It’s a taupe-coloured Mickey Robertson gardening dress. It has a high collar so you don’t burn the back of your neck in the sun.

Cleary grew up in the waterside suburb of Darling Point. Photo: Steven Woodburn

What was childhood like?

Privileged. I grew up in Darling Point and was sent off to Frensham boarding school. It made me who I am: very independent, capable, and with an ability to get on with everyone.

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What was your first job?

Tutoring HSC students when I left school. Also, I’m the eldest girl of eight children, so I did a lot of babysitting.

Did it turn you off having your own?

Being one of eight it did, but I had one child. My son is 10 years old. I always wanted a kind, caring and empathetic child, and that’s exactly what I got.

Cleary studied economics at university, but soon turned to a different career path. Photo: Jessica Hromas

How did you get into real estate?

I studied economics at Sydney University and hated every minute of it. I got a job at weekends in a real estate office on reception and, after a while, they asked if I’d be interested in working with the sales team.

I said I’d give it a go, and I never went back to university.

Where was your first sale?

It was a three-bedroom terrace in Paddington for $230,000 in 1990. I’ve sold it several times since. The last time was for $2.6 million.

Cleary recently sold this home in Darlinghurst for more than $10 million. Photo: Supplied

Most memorable sale?

I just sold one in Barcom Avenue, Darlinghurst, for over $10 million.

I sold it as a boarding house several years ago, it had lots of different rooms in it. I always wondered how someone would renovate it without losing its integrity and these people did the most incredible job on it.

What do you love about real estate?

I love the independence it gives you. You’re in control of how successful you’re going to be through hard work. There are also times you don’t make sales and you have to balance the finances, but that also drives you.

“You’re in control of how successful you’re going to be through hard work [in real estate].” Photo: Jessica Hromas

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?

Telling my son, Harry, that mum and dad were not going to be together any more. I told him we were still great friends, and still love each other very much, but we’re better not living in the same home. It worked out beautifully. I sold my ex-husband a house down the road, and Harry can walk between homes.

Name your guilty pleasure?

Car lollies. I always buy a packet of strawberry and cream lollies when I fill up the car. And in this job, that’s every 10 days.

Success to you is?

Sleeping well at night knowing I’ve done a good job during the day.