THE BYTE

Welcome to the BYTE, where we serve up the latest home and tech news from the last week for you to sink your teeth into.

This week we’re taking a BYTE out of 2017, discover why the traditional roof is under attack, we’ll look into some brand new products, we’ll also look at a revamp of an older product, and see who is being the bouncer for candy. Dig in!

Generally

Everyone Is Looking To 2017

BuilderOnline.com pulled in a little research to do some forecasting for 2017. The projections look promising and the within the article there are some great numbers and stats to help look towards the new year.

How Far Away Is 2017 Again?

62 days until 2017 starts. That will fly by so it might be time to start planning. The forecast is decent, not sipping mojitos on a beach perfect but definitely not bad. The analyst is showing that demand will outweigh supply for at least the next five years, Housing Starts look like they will continue to rise but not as fast as some may hope; all in all it looks like everything should continue to rise. The biggest worry what the Federal Reserve is going to do and how that will impact mortgage interest rates. Buckle up folks and get ready for whatever 2017 has in store.

Raise The Roof

Keeping Things Clean

On Friday evening Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, unveiled the Tesla Solar Roof. Tesla is trying to take over clean energy in every part of consumer’s lives. The Solar Roof is beautiful and hardly distinguishable from a regular roof. The tiles are textured glass that allows sun to shine through to the solar cells below. The partner in crime to the roof is the new Powerwall 2 that will store the energy from the roof to power the home even when the sun isn’t shining. These won’t become available for at least 9 months and the pricing has yet to be released as well. With this unplanned/unexpected announcement we’re left wondering, what is Tesla working on next?

Take Notes

An Apple A Day

When two tech giants have events in the same week people are going to start talking. Apple came out with TV and new MacBook Pros with 4 of the exact same ports and a new touch bar so emojis (and much more) are always at your fingertips. What everyone was really talking about was Microsoft. They released a new Surface Studio with new tools that go directly on the screen to help with creating basically anything, the whole thing is movable and overall looks amazing. They also updated programs such as paint to allow anyone to make/capture basically anything and make it 3D. Microsoft might have finally taken a bite out of Apple.

Rocking Audio

Many industries have been rocked by a digital disruption in the past decade, taxis, travel/hotels, and so on and so forth. Execs from Netflix and NPR are looking to cause such a disruption in the radio industry by reinventing podcasts, with their new project 60db. Podcasts have already been on the rise and have been climbing in popularity for years, thank you Sarah Koenig. 60db is creating fun, informative, and easily digestible pieces of content with an algorithm that tracks and suggests new content for consumers. 60db is hoping to start making waves, audio waves.

Did You Check The Label At The Door?

If you’re thinking about candy labels, and your answer is yes you do, then you are not alone. Redfin’s latest fun study showed that 83% of parents check their kid’s Halloween candy. This study also found that 62% of parents secretly eat their child’s candy, so munch away parents because you are not alone. Happy Halloween Everyone!

Totally Unrelated

But Still Kind Of Related This Time

Just in case you’ve always wanted Elizabeth Banks to brag and talk up your house, Realtor.com now has you covered.