Trying to buy or sell a home is a stressful enough without adding additional layers to the process, but that is exactly what I’m going to do. It’s getting harder and harder to ignore home automation – it’s here in a big way and it’s here to stay. It’s having a big impact across many industries, including real estate.
Consider these stats from a 2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Smart Home Marketplace Survey:
- More than 50% of homeowners said that smart home products would be part of the plan if they thought it would help sell their home faster
- When it comes to price tags, money is a small obstacle for home sellers. Of those willing to invest in smart home tech, they were OK footing a bill of between $1,500 and $3,00 to upgrade their home with smart technology.
- Just shy of half of Americans are smart home technology users, or plan to be by the end of 2016.
- While many people aren’t yet using smart home technology, 27% plan to explore how it can be incorporated into their lives in 2016.
Home automation is no longer something that you can bucket with Millennials or the younger generations, or for those with education and disposable income. The 2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Smart Home Marketplace Survey also found that:
- Younger generations are eating the dust of older generations when it comes to smart home tech adaptation. Smart home thermostat products are being purchased by those over 65 at about a 37% higher rate than Millennials.
- Household income has little effect on home automation adoption rates those with higher household incomes are adapting at rates nearly identical to those with medium household incomes.
- College education level has a small impact on smart home adoption rates; those with some college education vs. those with degrees barely differed at all.
Tips for Selling a Smart Home
When you’re trying to sell a house, you have a lot of things to juggle: your job, your family, your own search for a new home, and keeping your current home in show condition. If your home is already fitted with smart home features, you’ve already got an advantage. Especially if you are killing it in these categories, which Coldwell found to be the top choices: security (think smart locks and alarms), thermostats and fans, lighting systems, carbon monoxide detectors, and nightlights. Keep in mind that having just one smart home product won’t pass the test; sellers need to have three or more categories to be elevated to “smart” status by home buyers.
In the end, you just need to make sure that you are working with a savvy real estate agent that understands that home automation industry and how it is impacting real estate.
Tips for Buying a Smart Home
If you are looking to buy a smart home, look for established investments in security and home temperature control. These are the top priorities, and easy to learn how to use in your new home. While smart refrigerators, washers, and dryers might seem like great investments, but they are actually the least popular pieces of smart home tech that home buyers are looking for.
The problem with selling a home with it’s own Smart Home systems built in is that the buyer has to want exactly that technology, else it’s more of a hindrance. If someone is used to having or wants Philips Hue lights and you have say a Control4 system then they have to take into account whether they want that system and if not how to take it all out and then install what they want.
The good thing about Hue Bulbs, Amazons Alexa, Google Home and other Internet of Things devices is that you can just take them with you when you leave or move into a new house.