The Impact of Smart Home Technology on Home Value and Resale

Recent advancements in smart home technology are working to revolutionize real estate industry. Therefore, integrating automated automation devices in homes offers plenty of choices to home owners which not only enhances the worth of their homes but also creates greater chances for the quick sale of their homes. Smart home technology has the capacity to activate a wide range of devices for comfort when people are living in or staying at home. Exemplary of this is the automatic turned-on of security lights in some homes situated in isolated areas once an individual is away from home at a particular time in the day. The huge advantage of automation is that even when home owners are away, these systems serve to safeguard their houses, cars and other valuables they keep in their houses. Furthermore, smart home technology also offers a wide choice of devices and systems to assist the elderly and disabled. For instance, there are devices which allow the alarm to activate at a specific time and enable emergency contacts with a click of a button. Additionally, smart home technology enables users to remotely operate and manage a wide range of electrical appliances in their property. Finally, smart home technology allows everything to function properly once all related components are installed in form of a system which caters to the users’ various needs. In conclusion, as real estate prices continue to rise, smart home technology enables home owners to boost the selling price of their homes.

But the modern-day, more tech-savvy house-hunter is seeking and valuing resale features such as smart homes that allow access to wireless cameras in the house, or that automatically open doors.

Increased Home Value

Because of this, when a home is already equipped with smart technology, it will be more marketable than a home that does not have it. Smart-home technology is better-suited to today’s crowded housing market. Not only do these homes tend to sell faster and for higher prices in comparison with similar homes without smart technology, but they also tend to sell for higher prices than a similar home that does not have smart technology.

Installing smart home technology (which could include heating controls, internal and external lighting systems, motion detection, temperature monitoring, centralised access control, security systems that monitor or control access) is a way to grab the attention of tech-savvy consumers: they offer ease of use (controls from mobile telephones), save electricity (energy efficiency, setback controls; and they are green – certainly they will impress eco-conscious potential buyers concerned about the carbon pawprint of their purchase). They allow for remote monitoring of the home, a feature that might also be attractive to potential buyers because of the ability to control and monitor the home from afar, especially to younger generations accustomed to the digital environment. Indeed, not only can they offer control from a distance, but they can be controlled by voice: turn on lights and other appliances with very little effort (the control of lights can take place from a specialised device that, in reality, acts as a master ­– eg, a smart speaker such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomePod – and which commands all the other devices from the master hub).

Increased Convenience

But these ease-of-use benefits are part-and-parcel of a versatile set of other benefits; it seems increasingly likely that smart home devices boost the value of property by up to five per cent for their owners. Indeed, one estimate puts the figure at five per cent per year when smart technology is incorporated into a residence.

Smart tech for thermostats and for lights bring down the cost of utilities, making energy more efficient for both the planet and the bank while delivering a major selling point for buyers who want to save the Earth.

The presence of smart security systems – including open-doorbell camera systems that feed video to the homeowner’s phone, and motion-detecting alarm systems that can notify homeowners of real-time activity on the property and around it – make homes desirable to buyers.

Increased Security

The security of a property can be improved by upgrading to a smart home, with sensors, door locks and cameras providing notifications to the home owner’s phone if an intruder is detected within their house, deterring the intruder and reassuring potential buyers of the building’s security.

Smart home technology saves even more energy. Smart thermostats are automatically programmed to your schedule, and save on your bill over time: a big selling point to prospective buyers in parts of the world where energy prices are high.

A smart home helps the property appreciate more in various ways. Even though these upgrades can make smart home features pricey in the beginning, you gradually get your money back on your smart home because buyers pay more for these upgrades.

Increased Energy Efficiency

This means smart technology – such as automated thermostats that modulate according to the seasons and demand, or lights that switch on and off when you come in the door – your home will use energy efficiently, becoming greener, and thus more attractive to a wider group of purchasers.

This is doubly true because smart home tech saves money on energy bills, making it that much more valuable. Furthermore, devices tend to fit well with one and other, and work with upgrades to home tech as it becomes available – a clear sales advantage to prospective buyers, and perhaps even a way for a house to edges out the competition when there are multiple buyers or minimal time to view your home. In summary, adding a smart tech conglomerate gives you a step up against other homes and can make your listing stand apart, potentially enabling the sale for a loftier price … particularly if you expect to list shortly after installing this type of tech!

Increased Appeal

Smart home tech can make life more convenient and comfortable – from touchless hand sanitiser dispensers that can read your fingerprints and use your smartphone to authenticate access to noise-cancelling windows, which automatically lower when your neighbour starts mowing their lawn just as you begin a video conference call with your boss, smart devices can make life simpler and more relaxing – but those devices come at a cost, and also increasingly require a steadily available Internet connection to function.

If you’re upgrading or buying a house, the key to smart remodelling is deciding how to balance short-term costs with larger savings in the long run. That’s why, if you’re starting out on the road to household automation, or ‘domotics’ as it’s also known, it’s best to start small. Buy one thing that solves an immediate problem, then add more gadgets bit by bit until your home responds automatically to your every need.