Sales of commercial property to local buyers increased 30 per cent over the previous financial year, according to CBRE. LOCAL investors underpinned the $16 billion of commercial property sold last financial year, a 12 per cent increase on 2011-12, according to real estate agent CBRE. Sales jumped 24 per cent in the June quarter compared with the same three months last year, despite concerns about the economy. CBRE's head of research for Australia, Stephen McNabb, said buyers had concentrated on a small number of low-risk but high-quality investments with a lower number of higher-value deals during the year. The result had driven up the value of prime buildings while secondary investments had lagged, he said. Sales to local buyers increased 30 per cent over the previous financial year while foreign investment slumped 43 per cent during the year. However, CBRE national director of capital markets, Josh Cullen, noted foreign investors had bought $11bn worth of Australian property since 2007. CBRE said sales of office property increased 28 per cent to $9.7bn for the year, retail property sales were flat at $4.4bn, while sales of industrial property fell 16 per cent to $1.9bn. In a separate report released yesterday, economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel said the retail property sector was set to face its greatest challenges since the global financial crisis thanks to falling consumer savings, a slow economy, growth in online retailing and the depreciation of the Australian dollar. BIS Shrapnel predicted the market share of internet retailing could increase from 6 per cent to 11 per cent within the next five years. "What this means is that more than $3 out of every $10 of additional expenditure will go online," BIS Shrapnel senior project manager Maria Lee said. The forecaster expects shopping centre incomes to grow at an average pace of 2 per cent per annum over the next five years, failing to keep pace with inflation. On the office property market, real estate agent Knight Frank put the number of office property sales at $9.09bn, noting demand was driven by unlisted wholesale funds, syndicates and Australian real estate investment trusts. National research director Matt Whitby said $2.3bn worth of office property was in due diligence or final negotiations. "There has been a consistent upward trend in CBD office sales volumes over the past four financial years," he said.