More office space in Honolulu was unoccupied during the first three months of 2008 compared with a year prior, but the overall downtown Honolulu office vacancies remained among the lowest of 53 cities surveyed by Colliers International.

The same survey found Honolulu's suburban office buildings had the lowest vacancy rate of markets surveyed. Only 6.8 percent of this space was unoccupied during the first quarter.

Colliers, a real estate services firm, said the vacancy rate increased nationwide and averaged 12.77 percent during the first quarter. It noted the recent spate of bad news had resulted in a battle of expectations, with tenants expecting lower rates and landlords feeling confident with occupancy rates near historic highs.

Honolulu's downtown vacancy rate increased to 8.6 percent from 8.0 percent a year earlier. Even with the increase Honolulu had the 10th-lowest vacancy rate.