Smart Home Technology: Is Smart Home Tech Taking Over Real Estate?

Is IoT and SmartHome tech taking over real estate? It’s a good question.

This article is going to be different than the one we posted a few months ago. While it’s good to understand the landscape of what devices are available, this is a step-back. Is it worth it to do or even necessary when selling a home?

There’s no doubt that it’s definitely on an upward trend. Home automation technology has existed for several decades, but it’s only now that it’s making waves. With Apple, Amazon, and Google all entering into the Home Automation, it’s without a doubt arrived. Does this mean that the only way to sell a home is if it has some smarts?

Equipping a home with smart tech does increase it’s value, more than just the cost of the devices. It’s effectively like a remodel. There are also varying degrees of the amount of tech you can do. Simply adding an automated thermostat and a few home security devices could be considered enough. If you’re planning on adding new appliances before you go, it’s going to be worthwhile to make them Internet-capable.

Yet, the rate of increase isn’t that much. It’s still in early adopter territory. The tech is changing fast enough that it’s hard to settle on one solution that’s a game changer. It’s like home networking in the ’90s. Some houses installed CAT5 to make a home network. With the advent of Wi-Fi, this became last-years news. The same could happen. For example, all the old standards for in-home wiring are pretty much out of favor for wireless. Who know’s what’s next? Why would a device need to be connected to four others when it can know what it needs to do on it’s own? Why do you need to have a phone to control your lights?

I also feel that moving into a home that’s pre-automated is like picking up someone else’s phone. it’s configured the way they want it. While you can learn to figure it out, it’s not the way you would do it. More than likely, the will want to re-configure it anyway. They also might not like the choice of devices you’ve picked. With the divide between Android and Apple as big as it is, you might end up narrowing your market. Luckily, most devices work regardless of controller, so it’s a simple swap. That being said, it can be another thing on the list that new home buyers mark as a negative.