Greater Boston’s commercial office market ended a six-quarter skid of negative absorption in the second quarter, with flat absorption of 39,000 square feet, according to new research by Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC (RBJ&P).

According to the report, the Greater Boston office market experienced 39,000 square feet of positive absorption during the second quarter, in contrast to 204,000 square feet of negative absorption in Q1.

The vacancy rate edged up by 0.2 percent to 16 percent as 504,000 square feet was completed. Average asking lease rates were somewhat mixed across the market, with declines in most geographies and slight increases in a few premium locations.

"The positive absorption we saw this quarter, however slight, was a welcome end to the year and half streak of negative absorption," said Brendan Carroll, vice president of research, Richards Barry Joyce & Partners. "Combined with other economic indicators, it provides good reason to be cautiously optimistic."