A house on Dolores Street in San Francisco offered at $1.6 million now has a sale pending. The Bay Area real estate market remains strong overall, with a concentration of hot neighborhoods in the South Bay. A house on Dolores Street in San Francisco offered at $1.6 million now has a sale pending. The Bay Area real estate market remains strong overall, with a concentration of hot neighborhoods in the South Bay. Shoppers visit the open square and shops at Santana Row in San Jose in January.

Neha Chaudhry (left), Rita Vula, Sumana Samuk and Harshit Kher hang out at Serendipia. The communal home is taking payment in a new cryptocurrency. Neha Chaudhry (left), Rita Vula, Sumana Samuk and Harshit Kher hang out at Serendipia. The communal home is taking payment in a new cryptocurrency. A map shows former and current guests at Serendipia, a communal home that can be rented through Beenest. A map shows former and current guests at Serendipia, a communal home that can be rented through Beenest.

A section of a shipping-container house is lifted from a flatbed truck before installation in Joshua To’s backyard in Menlo Park. A section of a shipping-container house is lifted from a flatbed truck before installation in Joshua To’s backyard in Menlo Park. A year ago, Joshua To set out to build a 640-square-foot home made of four metal shipping containers in the backyard of his Menlo Park home.

After long delays marking a late entry to a hot market, Apple said Tuesday it will start shipping its HomePod smart speakers on Feb. 9 and begin taking orders on Friday.The Cupertino company is marketing the $349 HomePod as a premium music speaker, with seven beam-forming tweeters and six microphones in a rounded shape that’s just under seven inches in height. The speaker also works with Siri, the digital assistant on Apple devices.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, plans to introduce a bill Thursday that would dramatically increase the number of H-1B visas available each year, and allow the spouses of these visa holders to work in the U.S., according to a draft of the bill provided to The Chronicle. H-1B visas, which allow foreigners to live and work in the U.S. for a period of time, are particularly significant to the Bay Area, which has the second-highest concentration of H-1B holders after the New York City area.

Four Barrel Coffee, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in San Francisco. Four Barrel had announced that it would temporarily change its name to the Tide, but now it is changing it back. Four Barrel Coffee, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in San Francisco. Four Barrel had announced that it would temporarily change its name to the Tide, but now it is changing it back. Four Barrel coffee beans for sale on the shelves at Canyon Market in San Francisco, on Mon. January 8, 2018.

Bill Proestler, who owns 5 Star Car Wash and Detail Centers in Vacaville and Fairfield, has about 70 workers. His extra federal unemployment insurance tax bill for 2017 comes to $10,564. Bill Proestler, who owns 5 Star Car Wash and Detail Centers in Vacaville and Fairfield, has about 70 workers. His extra federal unemployment insurance tax bill for 2017 comes to $10,564. Cole Gomez cleans the area after washing a car at the 5 Star Car Wash and Detail Center in Fairfield.

This image released by Netflix shows Noah Schnapp, from left, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb Mclaughlin in a scene from "Stranger Things," premiering its second season on Friday. This image released by Netflix shows Noah Schnapp, from left, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb Mclaughlin in a scene from "Stranger Things," premiering its second season on Friday.

A building at Apple’s new campus in Cupertino. The company this... Thanks to stronger-than-expected job growth, California’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in December, a record low since the state starting tracking it this way in 1976. The rate represents a significant drop from 4.6 percent in November and 5.2 percent in December last year, the Employment Development Department said in a press release. California has narrowed the gap between its unemployment rate and the U.S.

A vial containing 10 doses of the flu vaccine for patients getting a flu shot at the Kaiser Permanente Redwood City hospital injection clinic in December. Health care providers are hoping that the uptick in flu ... more A vial containing 10 doses of the flu vaccine for patients getting a flu shot at the Kaiser Permanente Redwood City hospital injection clinic in December. Health care providers are hoping that the uptick in flu cases may have plateaued after peaking in early January.