How Smart Home Technology Can Help You Sell Your Home
Smart home technologies are becoming more prevalent. So much so that it is worth considering when the time comes to sell your home, especially as it can be very expensive. Does it add value to your home? Or is it just a perk? Before you start installing the latest hardware, you should know the following.
Certain additions to the home – such as installing new tiles, parquet floors, or adding extra rooms – can bring you additional resale value when it comes time to sell. Using this logic, a salesperson might think that a smart home retrofit would do the same, right? But the sad truth is that homes equipped with smart home technology probably won’t sell for more, says residential real estate agent Angel Piontek . Appraisers pay attention to the most important things, such as the number of bedrooms, location, and other necessary amenities. Some expensive automation systems for the whole home (like Control4) can add some value, Piontek says, but such systems can cost you $ 10,000 or more. Basic upgrades that range from a couple hundred to $ 1,000, like the Nest thermostat or Sonos smart sound system, will do little for you.
However, while smart home technology cannot add to your home’s resale value, it can help your home stand out so you can sell it faster . Piontek explains:
“The actual cash value may or may not increase, but it can lead to faster sales. Outside the luxury market, this is a new niche that we need to consider. This gives a differentiating factor when you are selling a house … If I walk into four houses in the same area and one of them has a Nest thermostat and the agent explained to me that it could save 10 to 12 percent on my heating and heating … cooling, it will forever remain in my memory. And maybe I’ll forget about other houses.
If you are planning to install any smart home hardware before selling, make sure you work with a listing agent who is familiar with it. Piontek warns that an agent can only use technology as a trading advantage if he knows how to explain it. And it’s best to choose popular products that consumers are familiar with – Nest thermostats, doorbells, etc. Don’t scare someone with something that seems unfamiliar or too complicated.
Also, make sure the merchandise is part of the home and should be included in the sale. If you don’t label things clearly, or your agent makes it obvious, people might think you are taking it with you. This is especially true for items that don’t require any kind of careful installation, such as Sonos wireless speakers, Nest easily removable thermostats, and Google Home devices. Again, these gadgets will not bring you any return on your investment, but if you want to sell your wares quickly, these nifty gadgets can give you an edge in the market.
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