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Thanks to a competitive market and the ever-increasing buyers’ standards, selling a home today is more challenging than ever. Marketing your house in its basic form just won’t cut it anymore. A new coat of paint, a fresh set of tiles, or a couple of plants for the curb all sound good, but according to surveys by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, most buyers today are gravitating towards houses fitted with smart technology.
You see, with the technological era, smart technology has grown to become more of a necessity than a luxury. Buyers want to feel technologically savvy and modern, and therefore expect to see these tweaks in a standard home.
So as you wade through your list of upgrades and are looking to make your home stand out without spending a small fortune, you might want to consider a few of the tech below.
Smart Thermostat
The smart thermostat is one of the easiest smart upgrades you can add to your home.
Unlike your typical AC system, thermostats give you better hold over the house’s temperature in real-time. With this, you can easily alter it as it suits you, therefore saving on energy and electricity bills.
Thermostats like Sensi are becoming increasingly popular mainly because of their easy installation processes. You can even do it yourself without hiring an HVAC professional.
They are also easy to access, and you can manage them through equally intuitive mobile apps.
Most smart thermostats are also compatible with Amazon Alexa or the Apple Homekit platform. This means you can control them through voice commands.
Others have other features like geofencing, whereby the thermostat automatically adjusts the temperature by sensing if anyone is present.
Spruce Up the Ambiance With Smart Lighting
Gone are the days when you’d have to turn on the lights by physically flipping a switch. Or worse yet, frisk around in the dark, searching for the annoyingly elusive light switch. With smart lighting, you get to control your lights remotely through a mobile app or even remote control.
Easily switch up the lighting in different areas of the house from where you sit. Or turn them on even before you get home.
And the best part is that the installation process is really easy.
It all falls to screwing in a Wi-Fi-enabled bulb and connecting to it through an app. There are also smart devices that you can screw into pre-existing sockets, turning them into intelligent lights.
Get Some Peace of Mind With Smart Smoke Detectors
Smart smoke detectors help reassure your future homeowner that their prized house is fire-free at all times. The smoke detectors usually send a notification to your phone the instant they sense a problem.
You also have the option of connecting the smart smoke detector with your home security systems, so they make calls to first responders automatically.
If it is a false alarm, you can dismiss it with your phone from where you sit. These smoke detectors also inform you when the battery runs low, rather than startle you with those jarring chirps in the middle of the night.
Keep Watch With Smart Security Cameras
Buyers feel safe when they know their homes are secure even when on vacation halfway across the world.
For this, you can set up a couple of CCTV cameras around the house to give you a real-time feed of the house.
This kind of technology for the home comes with apps compatible with your phone, with some even connected to the doorbell. Therefore, when someone rings, you can see who is at your front door from whenever.
Newer versions of security cameras are easier to install and way more affordable than traditional systems. They are also Wi-Fi-enabled, so you won’t have to drill holes or run wiring around your house.
Smart Locks on Doors
Just like the way most cars today come keyless, so do houses. Therefore, rather than bearing the burdens of carrying around giant key chains, most buyers prefer smart locks.
Since they communicate with your smartphone, all you need to do is get near your door for it to unlock itself automatically.
Besides this, smart locks also let you control access to your house.
So, instead of dishing out your house key to whomever, you can unlock the door for them even when not around. This can be in the form of a one-time use passcode, which you can change as you please, or virtual keys which you can send out and limit how long they work.
Conclusion
With smart technology becoming more mainstream, having it installed in your house not only gives it a fighting chance in the market, but it also generally improves your current lifestyle.
With this, you get better negotiating power in terms of price, and your house gets a little bit of a modern personality.
Also, be sure to mention those smart technology upgrades in your open house sheets and online listings. And when you do finally sell the house, remember to restore the smart devices to their factory settings to protect your privacy.
If you want to confirm your home’s actual value, you can check it for free on this online house valuation website.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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