The historically tepid Long Island office real estate market showed positive signs in Q1 2017.

The overall vacancy rate declined to 9.8% from 10.2% in the first quarter of 2016, and is better than its six-year average of 11.7%. Nassau County unsurprisingly is stronger than Suffolk, with 8.4% vacancy compared to the outer county's 11.8%, according to a Newmark Grubb Knight Frank study as reported by Long Island Business News.

Although asking rate in both counties remained stagnant year-over-year, net absorption bounced back to negative 49K SF from a negative 168K SF nadir in last year's fourth quarter. Long Island still has a long way to go to match 2016's first quarter of 257K SF in positive absorption.

Each county had a particularly strong submarket in 2017's first quarter, with Nassau's Surprise Lake/New Hyde Park area sporting a 5.5% vacancy rate and Suffolk's Melville area at 8.6%, a sizable improvement over the 12.5% of a year ago.