Imagine this: you wake up in the morning, your coffee is already brewing, and your oven is finishing cooking your breakfast. The lights softly turn automatically on to illuminate your path to the kitchen. While you’re enjoying coffee on the lanai, you turn on some music and lower your home’s temperature, all within seconds. As you finish your Pike’s Place medium roast, your doorbell rings. You’re not expecting anyone, so you pull out your phone and take a look at your front door. It’s UPS, likely delivering another package from Amazon (If you’re anything like us). This isn’t just a dream of convenience, it’s now a reality for most homes with Smart living. But what about selling a home with Smart features already in place?
First, it’s important to understand what a smart home device really is. “A home that is equipped with network-connected products (aka “smart products,” connected via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or similar protocols) for controlling, automating and optimizing functions such as temperature, lighting, security, safety or entertainment, either remotely by a phone, tablet, computer or a separate system within the home itself.” Appliances, generators, water heaters, window shades and so much more are now able to be controlled to enhance the convenience of our lives.
Buyers are looking for homes with smart devices, and they can often be a key selling feature, however, a home with smart features isn’t automatically worth more money. Instead, smart technology’s value comes from added marketability, says Matthew Rathbun, who is helping to design the new RRC Smart Home Certification program. Smart technology can add a competitive edge to a home that could otherwise blend into the background of a crowded home market. Make sure your Listing Agent highlights and shows off your smart devices for showings and open houses, and aside from showing the smart features off, make sure that your Agent knows how to operate each feature! Your investment into the 21st Century will give your home that wow factor that buyers are looking for. Who knows, it could be what sets your house apart from the others on the market and ultimately sells your house!
Just like you’d trade in your old phone for the latest release, upgrading your home’s features with smart home technology can be easy. Much easier in fact than taking on a major home improvement project and with the potential to make your home sell faster. Although the return on your investment is nice, it’s non-monetary benefits like these that are enticing so many homeowners to make smart upgrades. It’s never polite to brag. But after making the upgrades, you’ll have fun showing your Agent the many ways your smart home makes you look even smarter.