As the modern day world welcomes new, exciting technology, the real estate industry follows suit with smart homes and home automation features. These innovations are designed to save energy and lower costs, as well as make the home more convenient for the home owner. Smart homes and home automation features include a wide variety of solutions for monitoring, controlling, and automating functions in the home. Smart home features are controlled by a smartphone or Wifi application which creates a portable headquarters for the home owner. What could be more convenient than controlling everything in your home from one place, no matter where you are at the time?
Well Americans concur. According to an article published by PR Newswire, the United States experienced strong growth in the smart home market over the last two years. With 169 million smart homes existing in 2016, the country ranks as the most advanced smart home and home automation market in the world. Real estate experts are projecting the growth of smart homes in America to increase by 30 percent annually until 2020; that means we’ll see the supply grow to nearly 460 million smart homes in three short years.
Types of Smart Home & Home Automation Features
Smart home and home automation features vary and the probability of even more innovations entering the market before 2020 are high. Popular smart home features include garage doors that you can control and monitor from your phone and openers with lasers that can detect whether a child or object is in danger of any injury. There are smart smoke detectors that can send you notifications in an instant if there’s a fire. Install a smart thermostat and use the least amount of heat or air conditioning to keep your home comfortable, and save money too. There are also keyless entry systems, automated window shades, smart security systems, and smart lights. Don’t forget that there are also smart building materials and irrigation technologies that can even save you money on your homeowners insurance.
Who Is Buying a Smart Home & Why?
The benefits of smart homes are huge and home automation technology can help fetch a big return on investment (ROI) by being very appealing to all kinds of home buyers. As reported by Redfin, more people over the age of 60 own smart homes than millennials, but its a close contest. The older generations install smart home features and home automation technology to add value to their homes and keep their homes safe and secure while younger generations of home buyers prefer smart homes for the comfort, convenience, and the savings.
If and when you decide to sell your smart home, potential buyers will know that they will save money using energy-saving products and features, so that can be a strong selling point for buyers. Some home buyers will pay more for a smart home as data is beginning to show. However, the buyer’s interest will also depend on the smart home automation features that you chose to install. For example, if you installed cameras that can double as a baby monitor, a young family will be more interested in this smart home feature than a young, eco-conscious millennial who is more concerned with monitoring their daily energy usage and cutting costs.
Special Smart Home Considerations
When you’re considering installing home automation features and making your home a smart home, it’s important that you recognize it as a long-term investment. Remember that a cheaper product won’t last as long as a higher quality smart home feature and won’t get you more money during resale; a more expensive smart home or home automation feature will produce greater rewards in the future. Decide what smart home and home automation features make the most sense to you and your lifestyle, and then compare it to what you think other buyers would want. Balance out your needs and wants, and decide whether you want to start out small with individual installations or if you’re ready to jump right into a full home automation system.
The Bottom Line
Smart homes are on the rise. As new construction homes increase in supply in 2016, so will smart home and home automation systems. If you’re interested in buying a smart home in the DMV or investing in home automation technology before you sell, contact the Keri Shull Team and rely on our experience and knowledge to be successful.
