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 how people are buying houses, PCBC 2017, saving some cash, and some fun to get you ready for the 4^th of July. Dig in!

Generally

Seeing Isn’t The Only Path To Believing
33% of people who bought a home last year made an offer without seeing the home in person.

You’re Seeing That Number Correctly
The 33% who placed a bid sight unseen is up from 19% last year. Millennials are leading the pack with 41% making an offer according to the Redfin survey. The advancements in interactive walkthroughs and the pace at which housing is being bought are the reasons that are being credited with this dramatic increase. The survey also found that buyers most common economic concern was affordable housing.

Take Notes

PCBC
The big show on the west coast took place last week and involved a bunch of new products and awards. Some new products that were the talk of the town were some new advanced finishes from Whirlpool, an automated patio door controllable from your phone from Ply Gem, and a Chef Collection set of kitchen appliances from Samsung. Here’s a list of the big releases. Golden Nugget Awards were given out and Toll Brothers received Home of the Year, feel free to peruse the full list of winners here.

Save Me!
Only 24% of Americans have no money saved for an emergency according to Bankrate. This is the lowest that percentage has been since 2011. Not only that but 31% of people had savings to last them 6+ months, basically saying those that save, save really well. Boomers had the most people with savings lasting for 6+ months, but millennials had a much stronger showing in the middle of the pack with savings lasting less than 3 months or up to 5 months.

Getting Into The Spirit

Get Your 4^th Trivia Answers Ready
We’ll do a couple of quick hits to get you ready. Hot dogs eaten on the 4^th: 150 Million. How much is America going to spend to celebrate? $7.2 Billion. How many candles should I put on America’s birthday cake? 241. How much do fireworks affect our air quality? Air quality decreases by 42% after the 4^th. If you need more fun facts, no need to thank us.

We’re Not So Different You And I
In case you have always wondered what you and fireworks had in common, science is here to solve that mystery. Without getting too much into the details, it turns out that on the basic level, fireworks and you are decently similar, but we’ll let NPR help fill in the details of exactly how.

Be Safe Out There
News Flash! Fireworks are dangerous but also very popular. Not only that but, states are relaxing laws around these high-flying explosives. They are getting cheaper and we are shooting off about a pound of fireworks for every single person in the U.S.

Happy 4^th of July!