Honolulu's suburban market for office space at the end of last year had the lowest vacancy rate among suburbs of 56 major U.S. metropolitan areas, according to a survey by commercial real estate firm Colliers International.

But among 54 downtown central business districts, 13 other markets had lower vacancy rates than Honolulu.

Colliers said 7.3 percent of Honolulu's suburban office space was vacant at the end of last year, up from 6.5 percent at the end of 2007.

The second-best market was St. Louis at 8.9 percent. The worst market surveyed was Greenville, S.C., at 25.9 percent. The average of the 56 suburban areas was 15.2 percent.

In downtown Honolulu, the vacancy rate at the end of last year was 9.8 percent, up from 8 percent a year earlier.

The best downtown market was Charlotte, N.C., at 2.4 percent. The worst market was Greenville, S.C., at 23.8 percent. The average of the 54 downtown areas was 12.1 percent.

Sean Tadaki, vice president and office services division manager for local Colliers International affiliate Colliers Monroe Friedlander, said Honolulu's downtown office market for years had been a landlord's market, but is now near the 10 percent level where landlords and tenants have equal negotiating power in lease transactions.

Tadaki said base rents last year fell for the first time in six years, and tenants are anticipating concessions from landlords seeking to retain tenants or attract new ones.