SAN FRANCISCO-Tech continues to drive a successful market in San Francisco. So says a recent forecast report from Avison Young. According to the firm, San Francisco led the nation in job growth for the fifth year in a row, expanding by 4% in 2013.

The technology and information sector continue to be a driving force for the strong local economy; the unemployment rate decreased by nearly one percentage point from 2012, down to 5.4% with the addition of more than 45,000 technology jobs alone, says the firm.

Demand remains strong as both start-ups and established technology companies are looking to relocate and expand in the San Francisco market, says the firm. With an expected delivery of more than 1 million square feet in 2014 and a number of large tenants in the market for greater than 100,000 square feet, San Francisco will remain a competitive market.

On the office side, tech continues to be the driving force as companies, including Pinterest and Square, for example, have opened headquarters in the city. “Companies are expanding into San Francisco to stay competitive and attract top talent,” says the firm.

In 2013, roughly 800,000 square feet was occupied by tech companies either migrating (or expanding) from Silicon Valley to San Francisco. Mid-Market has seen an increase in activity: Twitter leads the charge with it's headquarter move in early 2013 and is looking to expand into 1 Tenth (337,909 square feet) come 2014, as GlobeSt.com reported. As the technology sector continues to grow, look for Mid-Market to become the new tech hot spot, says the firm.

Big moves by Salesforce, Illumina and Uber contributed to positive absorption, says Avison Young, with more companies like Visa, LinkedIn and Google expecting to take space in 2014. “With big tech tenants eyeing the large blocks of space coming on the market like 505 Howard and 181 Fremont, rental rates are expected to steadily rise throughout 2014.”

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Natalie Dolce

Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.