RALEIGH, NC-Sunset Lake Commons, a shopping center located in the affluent Raleigh suburb of Holly Springs, has traded for $12.8 million. Anchored by Harris Teeter, the property was built in 2005 and sits in one of the fastest growing towns in North Carolina.

Daniel A. “Sonny” Molloy, a vice president investments in the Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office and Brad Nathanson, a vice president investments in the firm’s Philadelphia office, represented the seller, Raleigh-based J&H of Holly Springs LLC. J&H was the original developer of the property. Nathanson and Molloy also represented the buyer, The Rosen Group Inc. M&M’s Allen Smith assisted in the transaction.

“Sunset Lake Commons is 97% occupied, which speaks to the desirability of the market and to the advantage of being a co-tenant with one of the most successful grocery store operations in the Mid-Atlantic,” Molloy said in a statement. “Harris Teeter is a 192-unit full-service grocery store chain that operates in eight states and had total revenues of $3.83 billion in 2009.”

Located at 5277 Sunset Lake Road, Sunset Commons spans 88,715 square feet of retail space. The average income within one-mile of the property is $109,594, and the median income within one mile is $100,479.

“Given the lack of new inventory delivered to the market, there was a tremendous demand for this center from a national buyer base,” Nathanson said in a statement. “The strong population growth within the Raleigh MSA, the appeal of owning the dominant grocer within that market and the attractiveness of owning Sunset Lake Commons also contributed to the receipt of multiple offers. The sale was subject to an existing loan assumption.”

In addition to the 48,000-square-foot Harris Teeter, the property features 32,000 square feet of small shop space and two pad sites. More than 80% of the 23,000 condos constructed here recently are now occupied, M&M reports, and retailers will accelerate efforts in the coming quarters to open locations to serve new residents.