Trends in Smart Home Technology

When it comes to home automation and technology, it’s getting seriously exciting out there. Falling Price points for smart home equipment, and the availability of supporting mobile device apps for control and monitoring, have made much of this tech affordable for the do-it-yourselfer or homeowners of modest means. More and more homes are incorporating smart home features and equipment every day, and failure to properly highlight these features is a missed opportunity, particularly when marketing to millennials and other tech-savvy buyers.

Most Brokers probably don’t have a lot of fully equipped smart homes in inventory, but many homes may have some built in features that can be highlighted.  Even if they don’t have any, however, the wireless nature of modern smart home systems makes almost any home a candidate for some really cool and affordable tech. So the real question for brokers is: How are you using trends in smart home tech to market your homes?  Are you creating a vision of the smart home for potential buyers even when a home isn’t yet equipped? And when it has some capability are you highlighting it?

Smart Home Capabilities For That Selling Advantage

If you don’t have connections with reliable smart home or security system companies, you probably should. These systems are often integrated together and present some amazing capabilities for the homeowner.

1. Voice control: From Amazon’s Alexa to NEST, Sonos and Lutron systems, the voice-controlled home is the tech to beat. These popular fully-integrated home systems allow users to control lighting, thermostats, music systems and much more with simple, effective voice commands.
2. Aesthetic networking: Technology is as integral to modern homes as plumbing or electrical systems, yet the networking these systems require always looks like a cluttered mess – until now. Tech-savvy home buyers are choosing attractive, unobtrusive Wi-Fi routers and systems that are hidden in walls and ceilings or meld perfectly into their design aesthetic.
3. Watch Your Home – From the Beach: Remote video monitoring of your home, your babysitter, your dogs, even locking/opening your doors and turning on the A/C is all something you can now do while lying on the beach.  Affordable camera systems in your local electronics store can be easily set up, are wireless, and you can connect to them using an app on your smart device or tablet.
4. Indoor air quality monitoring: There’s nothing better than a breath of fresh, clean air – but how can you ensure that that’s what you’re getting in your home or apartment? Electronic sensors can monitor air quality for VOCs (volatile organic compounds), C0₂ levels (carbon dioxide), carbon monoxide levels and even humidity. They can also be linked to systems that then expel the unhealthy air and introduce clean, filtered air into the home.
5. Motorized window coverings: Automatic, motorized shades for windows are seeing a significant increase in interest, whether they are being used for security, privacy or just convenience. They can be set on timers to open and close at specific times of the day, and can even be integrated into your home control system.
6. Outdoor TV: Want to catch the game while you’re BBQ’ing and watching the kids in the pool? Well, an outdoor TV is the solution. Homeowners are showing significant demand for these devices which have become more affordable than ever before.

Smart Homes Are Both A Technology And A Vision

While fully equipped “Smart Homes” don’t come into your inventory every day, your ability to talk the technology, have good partners for consultation and installation, and to create the vision for clients as you walk through homes can differentiate you and help you close the sale. Smart homes are an idea whose time has come and real estate agents can use this to market homes, whether they are smart home ready or not!

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/trends-smart-home-technology/