Though there's a sense we're drawing near the end of this market cycle, it's become increasingly hard to predict due to the power of one particular industry—technology. We spoke with Robert Sammons, Cushman & Wakfield Northwest research leader, about two kinds of technology that could drive new growth in the Bay Area.

Robert tells us it's harder today to gauge economic activity than ever before because of technology. That's key in the Bay Area, where so much of the economy is driven by tech firms, both startup and established.

As Robert sees it, while there may be a downturn ahead, a whole wave of innovation could shift gears back into expansion mode quickly, making any correction minimal. (Robert sent us a pic from his recent vacation in Palm Springs.)

At Cushman & Wakefield's The State of Real Estate event last month, Robert highlighted two technologies: virtual reality and robotics. Robert tells us he's hearing from brokers about companies in both of those fields looking for space in San Francisco.

Sure, both are sexy. Look at the popularity of the launch of Oculus Rift or the interest in self-driving cars. But either could drive all sorts of growth, both in the companies that create the parts and programming that go into such products and in companies that find new ways to use that new technology.

Advances could create a whole new selection of products we didn't even know we needed, Robert tells us.