Shauna Downs Shopping Centre at Sunnybank Hills has been picked before auction

Moe than 20 inquiries were made about a southside strip shopping centre.

Peter Huang from Yong Real Estate and the shopping centre at Wynne Road Sunnybank Hills.

A NEIGHBOURHOOD shopping centre on Brisbane's southside has sold for close to $4 million as cashed-up investors continue to swoop on Queensland's suburban retail assets.

The Shauna Downs Shopping Centre at Sunnybank Hills was snapped up by a local investor with a cash unconditional offer three days before it was due to go to auction.

Yong Commercial principal Peter Huang, who struck the deal, said the new owner was part of the local Chinese community and had other commercial and industrial holdings in the area.

The suburban retail strip on 3771sq m on the corner of Wynne St and Beenleigh Rd had 10 tenancies with a combined net lettable area of 1157sq m.

It was sold with nine tenants in place, including a Foodworks convenience store, bakery, butcher, Chinese takeaway and fish and chip shop.

The sale price equates to a passing yield of 8.9 per cent and the fully-leased rental income of the property, once the 80sq m vacancy is filled, is estimated at about $375,000 a year net.

Mr Huang said he had fielded more than 20 inquiries from potential buyers before the asset was due to go under the hammer earlier this month.

He said the new owner sealed the pre-auction deal with a strong cash offer and two-week settlement.

``We also had a number of other offers put on the table prior to the scheduled auction, including a higher offer,'' Mr Huang said.

``But because the vendor wanted the certainty of a sale it was knocked back and went with the cash unconditional offer.''

Mr Huang said the buyer was a local resident originally from mainland China.

``Chinese buyers have been very strong in today's market,'' he said. ``Buying a shopping centre with two weeks settlement and without borrowing any money is certainly not common among traditional Australian shopping centre buyers.''

According to the latest Colliers research, the flight to convenience-based retail assets is tipped to continue due to a market appetite for low-risk investments and the steady growth in food retailing.

``With their relatively higher income yield, neighbourhood centres are expected to outperform larger format centres over the next 12 months,'' it predicts.

Research indicates the retail investment market in Australia has been performing strongly over the past 18 months.

A total of 83 major retail investment transactions were recorded during 2011-12, with a total value of $4.244 billion - a jump of 8 per cent on the previous financial year.

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