Pat Rafter's former luxury trophy home resold at Sunshine Beach for $17 million to Kevin Rudd and Therese Rein

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his wife Therese Rein have emerged the $17 million buyer of the Sunshine Coast home of Queensland restaurateur David Hales and wife Louise.

The power couple will be upgrading from nearby.

The home last sold at $15.2 million when tennis legend Pat Rafter and his wife Lara quit the Sunshine Coast in early 2018.

Its latest sale come after being on the market since late last year when the home came with initial hopes of $20 million.

It had undergone a recent $1 million upgrade.

The John Burgess-designed seven bedroom home was sold by the retired tennis champion Pat Rafter and his wife Lara who moved to their 28 hectare Byron Bay retreat.

The Rafters always wanted $18 million plus for the seven bedroom, five bathroom beachfront home which was built in 2010.

Rafter suggested it was what it had cost.

They paid $9.5 million in 2006 for the building block with rival tennis star Thomas Muster missing out of the 1286 sqm double block holding.

The minimalist luxury U-shaped home has a central pool with two glass-fronted wings pushing out towards the ocean over a steep Banksia and pandanus-covered dune that drops down to the beach.

There's a path to the sand and the surf, some 136 kms north of Brisbane.

Rudd remains president of the New York-based Asia Society think tank, but the purchase has been advise as part of a move to repatriate capital to Australia.

Rein's wealth derives from employment services company Ingeus, which she sold in a deal worth up to $US206 million ($298 million) in 2014.

"We’ve made a conscious decision to bring our investments home to Australia," Ms Rein told the mainstream press.

"While Kevin was in office, we had to invest overseas to avoid conflicts of interest. We’ve now mostly brought those investments back home to Australia."