It may be surprising to learn, but a CNET survey determined that 28% of American already have a smart product in their home. That’s more than a quarter of Americans. These devices can range from security systems that operate cameras to devices that open and close blinds or change the thermostat in a room remotely. Home automation is becoming more and more mainstream, with a full 81 percent of homeowners who already have some form of automation deciding they would more likely buy a smart home in the future too. However, will that automation increase the value of your home? As the technology becomes more accepted, it may be that not having a smart home will date a house in the future as easily as a pink tiled bathroom does today.
How It Increases Your Home Value
There are a variety of ways home automation an increase the value of your home. It raises the perceived value of your home for a potential buyer when it comes time to sell. Some experts, like the National Association of Home Builders, estimate it can add as much as 3 to 5 percent of the value of the home, even though it doesn’t have to cost that much to add it into the home. Home automation becomes a great selling point for realtors, but only if the system is simple to use. Home automation that helps to control ambient temperature and the environment can easily lead to cost savings in energy usage all year. From lowering the blinds during the summer to turning on the heat only when you’re ready to come home. However, home automation that includes security, like automation window and door locks or security cameras offer an even bigger selling feature – a discount on homeowner’s insurance.
While installing a home automation system is a potential route to increasing the value of your home, its imperative that the seller understands that much of the value of home automation comes in its ability to present the home. Since home automation is all about comfort and convenience, showing potential buyers all the bells and whistles of home automation may cause them to perceive the home as having a greater value. That being said, home automation is often worth as much as your potential buyer is willing to pay for it.
Why Insurance Companies Love Home Automation
Home automation makes it possible to lock all your doors with one click even when you’re not home. It helps to provide a visual of your home with cameras in places that might be vulnerable to entry. A home security system also can call a 24×7 security provider who will notify you of any intrusions and send out police, if needed. This is why insurance companies offer up to a 20% discount on home insurance to homeowners with a home automation and security system built into their homes. That’s a substantial savings that can add perks in your favor when it comes time to sell your home. Not only will you feel safer, but you won’t ever have to worry about leaving the door unlocked again.
Homes Without Automation Tech Will Become Dated
Just as having modern roofing or a sprinkler system were all, in their day, accessories of a modern home, home automation will soon become common place in the American household. Because (already) more than 50 percent of Americans have used home automation, it will be difficult to go back to a time when they had to do everything manually. Home buyers will demand home automation and sellers will rely on it to remain competitive on the market. As the costs of home automation decrease and the demand for it increases, it will be a standard feature that will cause home’s that aren’t automated to drop in perceived value versus those that come with it. Buyers may not want a home without it in the future and this can affect the value of a home that fails to install those home automation systems that the public demands. However, for now, it is a feature that differentiates a home from others and gives it an edge when it comes time to sell.