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 the ups and downs of prices, a big decision tomorrow, another unfortunate recall, a fresh light on yard/home security, and a band pushing VR forward. Dig in!

Generally

What’s On The Up And Up?

Not San Francisco or New York, at least not the rent. For the first time in a long time, rental prices are going down in top markets.

Why Is This Happening?

The average rent across the U.S. is continuing to rise. However, 60% of the top 10 markets showed a decrease. San Fran, NYC, Honolulu, San Diego, and Miami all showed a decline in average rent because of an influx of supply. We are in a historic boom of apartment and condo builds and these are driving down prices and increasing incentives (think first couple months of rent free living.) For some of these cities it is the first decrease in over a decade. If this trend continues it might not be a good influence on getting people to start buying houses…

Decisions, Decisions

It All Comes Down To This

Tomorrow is the day. Tuesday, November 8^th has finally come and we will finally have reached the end of this long election season. No matter who you are voting for it is important to know the facts and details to make an educated vote. BuilderOnline recently put out some details around a hot topic this election season, immigration and the role it plays in the housing industry. Interesting points they called out were that 15% of all construction jobs are manned by unauthorized immigrants and a good portion of new immigrants are strong workers looking to get in the workforce. There are several measures up for a vote this election so be informed and go vote!

Take Notes

Keep ‘Em Coming Back

Samsung has issued another recall, this time on 34 models of their top load washing machines. Some of these machines were manufactured as long ago as 2011 and they are being recalled because the top lid has a tendency pop off during the wash cycle. Samsung is offering repairs, replacements, or full refund (if purchased 30 days ago).

Cue Police Chase Flashbacks

The newest in smart home tech gadgets, we have the Sunflower Home Awareness System. The system has a series of smart sensors in your yard that detect when something, or someone, is there that shouldn’t be. When system decides it wasn’t an animal or person that lives at the house it deploys a drone to fly in the air and shine a spotlight on the unexpected person. When it will be available to the public wasn’t announced, but we can’t wait to see it on the next episode of Cops.

Rooftop Concerts

Everyone is getting on the VR train. Avenged Sevenfold jumped in the virtual game in a big way. They announced an album with a live VR concert on a Hollywood rooftop. There were several cameras that could be watched from and drones flying around the building with cameras as well. It was quite the event and might be the start to more live broadcasted events allowing people anywhere to watch.

Totally Unrelated

No, No, No

Gmail’s new app will give you 5 seconds after you hit send to undo and get that message back you didn’t mean to send to your ex.