Townsville City Council’s former CEO Prins Ralston to auction Yarrawonga property

Townsville City Council’s former CEO Prins Ralston’s Yarrawonga property is up for auction. See the video of its transformation after $600k in renovations.

Hot on the heels of his resignation from Townsville City Council, former chief executive Prins Ralston has listed his stunning Yarrawonga property for sale, with an auction scheduled for early July.

CoreLogic sales data revealed that Dr Ralston purchased the four bedroom house at 47 Yarrawonga Drive, Castle Hill for $1.055m, nearly three years ago.

Given the renewed interest of buyers looking to get a foothold in the prestigious Yarrawonga areas, Keyes and Co principal Damien Keyes has been in regular contact with several property owners in the area, including Dr Ralston.

Following the former CEO’s resignation announcement, just days after swearing in the councillors who triumphed in the 2024 local government election, Mr Keyes was successful in listing the luxurious property for sale by auction on July 2.

Mr Keyes said the owners had engaged renowned local architects, Counterpoint Architecture, and together with their builder, undertook an extensive $600,000 renovation.

47 Yarrawonga Drive, Castle Hill offers sophisticated design with stunning ocean, island, and bay views. Picture: Keyes & Co.

“They certainly added some size. The lower level deck has been extended fully across, as well as the living area to create another bedroom and bathroom,” Mr Keyes said.

“Which basically gives you an option for the lower level to be almost like a self contained or kids zone, giving you three bedrooms and two bathrooms down on that level.

“At the same time, they’ve taken the rest of the property on the journey like an overhaul in the kitchen and creating much more connectivity from the inside of the property to the outside entertainment areas.”

He said there was a unique separate butler’s pantry, with cooking facilities, plenty of bench space and storage, large servery window, and a large stone servery bench which doubles as a bar to allow interaction with people in the “revamped” pool area.

47 Yarrawonga Drive, Castle Hill is up for sale. Picture: Keyes & Co.

A brand new kitchen features brand new appliances, high quality stone benchtops and high quality fittings.

With the money invested in the “significant transformation", and property prices surging in the suburb, the property was anticipated to reach an auction price in the high $1m to $2m.

47 Yarrawonga Drive, Castle Hill is up for sale. Picture: Keyes & Co.

Comparison of Castle Hill's median price trend. Picture: Realestate.com.au.

“(Castle Hill’s) median change in value in the last 12 months has been (up) 19.8 per cent … and in the last five years, it’s gone up almost 40 per cent,” he said.

“When you are in a rising market, you want to ensure that you tick every box around reaching the widest possible audience within a short, condensed period of time, to make sure that you’ve maximised the property’s potential in the market in terms of value.”

While Townsville has been swamped by southern investors snapping up the cheaper properties, he said it was mostly local buyers starting to circle at Yarrawonga.

“From what I’ve seen in the last sort of six to eight months, it’s mainly been locals (interested in expensive properties), with confidence in the town, and what’s going on, (wanting) to make the trade up,” he said.

47 Yarrawonga Drive, Castle Hill is up for sale. Picture: Keyes & Co.

47 Yarrawonga Drive, Castle Hill is up for sale. Picture: Keyes & Co.

“It’s definitely strong market conditions out there. It just feels like we’re going through another surge, and there seems to be no immediate signs that it will slow down as people relocate here.”

For more information, visit: www.keyesandco.com.au

Originally published as Townsville City Council’s former CEO Prins Ralston to auction Yarrawonga property