Smart Home Upgrades That Sell Your Home
What is a smart home? A smart home is any home equipped with devices or technology that can remotely control appliances. This is specifically relevant for thermostats, fire detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, security, and lighting. This may also include appliances such as your oven or refrigerator. For most people, thinking about upgrading to smart features in your home, is more about convenience and ease of use than resale value. This doesn’t have to be the way. Smart home upgrades can bring you peace of mind. Choosing the right smart home upgrades will increase your home’s resale value, even if you aren’t looking to immediately sell. However, if you decide to sell your home, they will also help increase your home’s appeal and speed up the selling process.
Choosing Smart-Home Upgrades
Current research demonstrates just how much appeal smart features have for the home buyer. Recent studies suggest 71% of those looking to buy want a move-in ready home. Of that 71%, an astounding 57% of buyers said they would consider an older home updated and move-in ready if smart-home features were installed.
With so many tech options out there for upgrading your home choosing the right ones can be difficult. Which Smart-Home features are most desirable to buyers? A 2020 survey provides the following insights:
65 percent of home buyers are willing to pay more for homes with smart technology
60 percent of consumers want smart technology that detects
37 percent of consumers have purchased smart technology for security
84 percent of consumers are looking for features that increase convenience
92 percent of real estate investors plan to install smart technology for tenants
With the majority of buyers desiring smart technology, making these upgrades may help your home sell quicker and for more. More than half of buyers surveyed prefer smart homes. They said that if given the choice between homes with smart features and homes without smart features they would choose a smart home. This is especially true for millenials, which are a target market that shouldn’t be ignored. Today, anyone between the age of 18 and 38 is considered to be a millennial. That demographic is expected to purchase more homes this year than any other age group.
In addition, realtors often know and understand the buyer better than they know themselves. Buyers may be choosing smart homes without realizing these upgrades helped influence their decisions. When it comes to realtors and brokers, the majority believe highlighting smart-home features help a home sale. In a survey they were asked, “Do you think highlighting smart home features benefits real estate brokers or agents when marketing listings?” The response was quite clear:
Overall, this means that less than 2% of realtors believe that highlighting smart home features has no effect on a homes appeal. That’s huge when considering the affordability of smart upgrades compared to other more traditional upgrades.
Costs of smart upgrades
Costs of upgrading your home can vary greatly based on the brand, quality and number of upgrades you make. According to HomeAdviser, on average nationally, homeowners spent $896 installing smart home automation. Traditional upgrades and renovation typically come with a much larger price tag. Upgrading windows alone can bring average cost between $8,500 and $20,000. Both smart upgrades and traditional upgrades can save you money in the long run. Smart thermostats, thermal windows, and doors can reduce heating and cooling costs. Smart lights and energy efficient lighting can help reduce energy costs. Smart appliances are perhaps the most expensive smart upgrade one can make to their home. They also have the highest return on investment. Smart appliances are expected to have an 11% higher return on investment compared to standard appliances.
How long will upgrades last?
At this point, it is still unclear just how long of a window your smart-home features will be considered current. Technology is ever changing and changing quickly. Will the ultra tech-savvy buyer be interested in last year’s smart devices? The bottomline is that choosing the right smart home upgrades can make your experience at home easier and more enjoyable. They can give you a return on investment by saving you money on utilities. Most importantly, the right smart home upgrades will increase its appeal and help you sell your home quickly. If you are considering taking advantage of the current sellers market and are thinking about selling your home, contact us! The team at Streamline Realty can help recommend which upgrades will get the most bang for your buck. You can also check out our sellers guide to learn other tips for you how can sell your home for more than your asking price.