The last three years have witnessed an explosion in smart home device adoption and home security. Have you joined the smart home revolution yet and purchased smart thermostats, lights, doorbells and other cool devices or have you been taking your time waiting for an easier way or better offers?
The seeds for the smart home future are being sewn today and they include huge leaps in home infrastructures of the mechanical and hardware kind that are going to transform the way we live. A country as rich as the United States and equipped with as much low cost hardware and better production techniques could realize utopian visions as they dwell in sustainable homes that maintain themselves and even create income through energy harvesting and micro farming.
Earlier this year we inquired of a national home builder how much they believe their smart home infrastructure and starter packages increase the value of the home and they said $40,000 (1). An informal survey of our industry peers and realtors in 2020 indicates a steady opinion of 2-3x return on investment (ROI). And according to Coldwell Banker’s most recent smart-home survey, most potential home buyers now want smart-home tech included in the deal. And finally according to a 2017 survey from T3 Sixty and Coldwell Banker, 91.3% of brokers and agents said they would benefit from the incorporation of smart home technology into marketing of a home and 82% said they believed smart home technology streamlined a sale. (2) Even trusted household consumer stalwart Consumer Reports advised that these purported increases in home value are real. (3)
This validation from such a large scale real estate broker with a national footprint shows how smart home is quickly establishing itself as the very top returning investment you can make in your home. But inevitably an ROI calculation alone undersells the disruptive force of smart homes.
Smart homes create huge operational gains for homes by lowering insurance, water and energy bills and they save customers hours and hours of time by vacuuming the floor, folding the clothes, and cleaning the toilet.
The best approach for adopting smart home holistically and maximizing your investment return to as high as 4-5 times your investment focuses on the following major keys to success:
- Technology changes quickly so go long on mature technology and flexible and innovative on evolving AI
- Upgrade to certain smart devices for adding value to homes because they make living easier: thermostats, security, entertainment, speakers, sprinklers, appliances, vacuum cleaners, lights, and locks
- Upgrade to certain other devices for adding value to homes by lowering utility and insurance bills: water flow meter and shut off valve, fire protection system, security system, smart LED lights and plugs, smart thermostats and smart energy monitors
- A whole-house generator that powers the entire property like GreenRhino generators are the safest whole home batteries capable of powering a home in a power outage and are especially valuable to homeowners in hurricane and winter storm prone areas such as the east coast, midwest and mountain regions
As smart homes become ubiquitous and the technology experience inside the home using voice assistants and various home automations, homeowners that are planning to sell their homes in the coming years need to prioritize their technology spend among other big remodel or fix-up priorities like kitchens and bathrooms or risk missing out on maximal resale value. Given that smart homes make life easier and more fun from day one, it’s time every homeowner considers all of their smart home upgrade options.
(1) 12% of the value of the home value
(2) https://www.housingwire.com/articles/49925-smart-home-upgrades-that-raise-home-value/
(3) https://www.consumerreports.org/smart-home/smart-home-tech-upgrades-to-help-sell-your-house/