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Greater Hartford office tenants leased nearly 274,000 square feet of space in the second quarter, more than double the average over the last two years.

But nearly all that activity occurred outside downtown, meaning it offers little relief for that submarket’s beleaguered landlords, according to a new report from commercial brokerage CBRE.

Quarterly net absorption region-wide hit 149,000 square feet after two successive quarters of negative absorption thanks in part to Hubbard Day’s new lease of 45,250 space at 525 Brook St. in Rocky Hill. Renewals totaled 109,000 square feet.

But the region is still nearly 70,000 square feet of absorption in the hole for the year.

The region’s office market ended June at a 23.8 percent availability rate – with a 23.2 percent direct vacancy rate and an 11 percent sublease availability rate – and an average per-square-foot asking rent of $21.07.

In downtown Hartford, the availability rate slipped up slightly to 24 percent overall, with class A availability holding steady at 28.3 percent. Downtown has seen 174,920 square feet of net negative absorption this year, much of it in the class A sector.

Overall the average downtown asking rent ended the quarter at $22.27 per square foot, and class A average asking rent ended the quarter at $23.03.

The quarter’s positive news came despite uncertainty buffeting the national and state economies from federal tariffs, renewed inflation and other policy changes, which have helped hammer both consumer and business sentiment. Still, CBRE’s report noted, the state’s labor market stayed placid with employment barely ticking down.