Office vacancies in the Fresno/Clovis area increased 1.65% to 14.11% in 2009 compared to the year prior, according to a year-end market report from Colliers Tingey.

The Downtown Fresno region had a vacancy rate of 8.83%, and also reported the highest net absorption, or largest amount of space leased after deducting space vacated.

According to Colliers Tingey, 2010 will likely remain a "tenant's market" 'when it comes to office space. Today, the area contains about 2.6 million square feet of direct available office space for lease, with an additional 236,000 square feet of sublease space available.

The Fresno/Clovis market has a total of about 20.6 million square feet of office space, not including government owned or leased properties, which account for an additional 4.8 million square feet of space, according to Colliers Tingey's 2009 annual market suvey.

Property values in the market have also seen sharp declines of up to 25% from previous years, but there has not been an influx of foreclosed office buildings in the market yet due to lenders working with existing owners, according to the report.

Despite the increased vacancy rate of 14.11% in 2009, the market still fared better than the national average with  up to 18% vacancy, according to the report.

"This can be attributed to the innovative, proactive approach utilized by owners and leasing representatives allowing tenants to take advantage of favorable market conditions and to move from less desired submarkets," according to the report.

The only areas that saw a positive net absorption of office space in 2009 were East Herndon/Woodward Park with 8,567 net square feet absorbed and Downtown Fresno with 88,528 net square-feet absorbed. The West Herndon/Northwest area had lowest net absorption, with a total of 46,760 square-feet in net vacancies in 2009, according to the report.

Some of the largest leasing transactions for 2009 include 27,778 square feet at 4770 West Herndon Ave. and 17,400 square feet at 1649 Van Ness Avenue in Downtown Fresno.