Tech is a hot sector (maybe the hottest) for office leasing in the DC region, says CBRE’s DC Tech Pulse report released this week. Tech companies leased over 4.1M SF of office space in the first three quarters of this year, making up 27% of total volume in the region. CBRE first VP Dave Ritchey (and head of the firm’s tech practice), celebrating a recent birthday, says it’s significant that one sector made up such a large percentage.

And 2015 looks even better with companies like Blackboard, Opower and WeddingWire already hinting that they could go for bigger and better HQs. The suburbs saw the most activity with NoVa accounting for 70% (3M SF) of total tech leases and Maryland 19%. DC is also a player with 50 leases (451k SF) signed, so smaller transactions but lots of volume. That kind of leasing activity and with dozens of early-stage companies housed in incubators and coworking spaces, “downtown is in the early innings of a growing tech ecosystem,” Dave says.