Pat Rafter seeks $18 million plus on Sunshine Coast

The retired tennis champion Pat Rafter and his wife Lara have listed their dress circle Sunshine Beach home.

It's ahead of plans to settle at their 28 hectare Byron Bay retreat.

They want $18 million plus for the John Burgess designed seven bedroom, five bathroom beachfront home which was built in 2010.

They paid $9.5 million in 2006 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.

Tom Offermann and Eric Seetoo at Tom Offermann Real Estate Noosa Heads have the listing which went live yesterday on realestate.com.au.

Its ambitious asking price would double the previous Sunshine Coast record which has stood since before the global financial crisis. 

It would also rank among the top half dozen Queensland residential sale if $18 million was achieved.

They've set to build on the Byron Bay outskirts.

Rafter, who reached world number one in 1999, had locals fleetingly wondering if there'd be a tennis academy - Florida style.

But it is just a family home that will sit among huge fig trees.

Having previously resided on Balmoral Slopes overlooking Sydney Heads, the sportsman's purchase marked a return to NSW property.

Since retiring, Rafter went on to become an underwear model for Bonds, a brand ambassador for the Mantra Group of hotels and a successful businessman.

In 2010 he was announced as Australia's Davis Cup captain and held the post until stepping down last year.

His greatest accomplishments came at the US Open, where he won back to back titles in 1997 and 1998, propelling him to world no.1 status in 1999.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.