Businesses continued to lease more warehouse space in Honolulu during the first three months of the year, resulting in the lowest industrial real-estate vacancy rate of 55 U.S. metropolitan areas, according to a survey.

About 107,000 square feet of industrial space was leased during the quarter, reducing the island's vacancy rate to 1.9 percent from 2.3 percent at the end of last year, according to local commercial real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander.

The vacancy reduction compared with a slight rise to 8.15 percent from 8.11 percent for 55 U.S. markets surveyed by Colliers International.

After Honolulu, Los Angeles had the next lowest vacancy rate at 3.0 percent.

The worst market was Boston at 22.5 percent.

Colliers Monroe Friedlander said the industrial vacancy rate for Honolulu, which includes all of O'ahu as a county, has been under 3 percent for five years. The market's total size is about 37 million square feet, of which 716,941 square feet was available at the end of the first quarter.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.