Real estate, like many other industries, is founded on an age-old principle—buy low, sell high. Home sellers want to price their home for its highest value, and buyers want to find a dream home that will appreciate value.
There are a number of ways that your clients can add additional value to their home to drive up the selling price. These can be as simple as adding a fresh coat of paint, to something more complicated like building a backyard patio. However, as new technology trends emerge, homeowners should begin looking into more tech-savvy updates. With environmentally friendly issues rising to the forefront, installing smart, efficient home technology can help add more value to your bottom line and get your listings off the market more quickly.
The smart-tech research
A recent survey from Coldwell Banker polled more than 500 real estate agents to get an idea of what homebuyers wanted when it came to smart tech. According to the results, nearly two in three agents reported that today’s buyers are more interested in smart homes than they were two to five years ago. Because it provides peace of mind, 59 percent of parents with children under the age of 18 said they would be willing to pay more for a home that has already been upgraded with smart tech. Even those without children are interested in smart homes, as 47 percent stated they would be willing to settle on a higher price, especially when it could save them money on their utility bills and household expenses in the long run. Agents are also seeing these properties sell more quickly.
When it comes to the specifics, 65 percent of buyers were most interested in smart-home technology for security. Following this were temperature control, safety, lighting, entertainment and, finally, appliances. Moreover, 62 percent of buyers also reported they wanted to be able to control these home devices from their smartphones or tablets. Looking at this, the take-away for agents is that smart-home technology is clearly on the rise, especially with Millennial and Generation X buyers.
Promoting your upgraded listings
Smart homes are advantageous for buyers when considering energy efficiency and environmental consciousness, but also when looking at the convenience of easily operating security, comfort and entertainment tech. Because of this, it’s important to advertise all the features of a smart home. Be sure to share each of the upgrades and the features available through them.
While, individually, each piece of tech may not hugely increase the price of the listing, it shows buyers that, when they purchase a smart home, they’re paying for the bigger picture—modernity, convenience, and safety. The upgrades have already been installed so the labor has been taken care of, which means one less thing new homeowners have to worry about.
The take-away
What it comes down to is, do these upgrades really help move properties more quickly? According to the survey, yes. From the agents interviewed, 33 percent said that homes with smart features and technology sold faster than homes without them. And the target market may not be exactly what you expected. While Millennials are interested in all things tech, Generation X (ages 35-49) is the top buying group interested in these smart upgrades with 57 percent looking for upgraded features.
While some buyers may need to be educated about the benefits of purchasing a smart home, most will already be aware of the advantages afforded by these upgrades. To get your smart listings the attention they deserve, check out Homes.com’s new Local Ads. By providing real estate professionals direct access to engaged consumers in their target city, listings are just one click from Google. Featuring a gigantic banner ad at the top of Homes.com search results, Local Ads is designed to capture active consumers searching for properties in your target city.
