The goal of any property investment is to increase the value. Who would not want the house to be worth more than when it was bought. There are many things property owners can do which can boost the appeal of the property and increase the selling price. For example, repainting walls, replacing old floors with new ones, changing pipes, installing a new heating system, etc. What about taking the renovation to the next level and making it a smart home. Would home automation help to increase the value even further?
According to many real estate agents smart homes indeed sell better than regular homes. The main reason is improved safety and comfort. For example, you can monitor who is behind your door, check remotely if you closed all the windows, turn on the air conditioner before arriving home, etc. These kinds of home automation functions become more standard with time and more people start to see them as more and more necessary. Smart home do not only make the house more safe and convenient but also will help to reduce monthly utility bills. See more: " Read more from the article: "How can smart home help you reduce your utility bill"
Turning the house smart is not necessarily a difficult and expensive task. The good thing is that there are many affordable solutions available in the market. If you are thinking about selling your property, adding some smart devices could help to increase the selling price as it adds extra value to buyers. For example, top things to upgrade are smart lights, smart locks, and smart thermostats.
💡 Smart Lights
Smart lights are one of the easiest smart home upgrades you could do. Lights are easy to install and often work with only downloading an app to manage them. People are getting more used to automated lights, which makes switches to become obsolete in time. Installing a couple of motion sensors and smart lights can already make an impressive difference for the house. For an extra effect, you could also add smart curtains and maybe a hub to help to set routines between different types of smart sensors, lights, curtains, etc. Before you buy smart lights read "5 Things to Know Before You Buy Your First Smart Lights".
🔑 Smart Locks
Smar locks do not only make the home more secure but also more convenient. Have you ever forgotten your keys somewhere or even lost them? Smart locks allow you to unlock your house using various methods such as a passcode sent over a WiFi or Bluetooth, fingerprint scan, facial recognition, etc. Moreover, some smart locks with a camera can help you to let in visitors from a distance when they should arrive home before you.
🌡 Smart Thermostats
Smart thermostats are becoming extremely useful in hot and cold climates as they help to save energy cost. An automated thermostat can regulate the temperature according to your preferences. Not only will it make your life more comfortable but it is also good for the environment. Energy efficiency can significantly bring value to the buyer.
In addition to mentioned devices, real estate value can be increased with smart cameras, smart speakers, smart kitchen, etc. For people who are looking for a more complete solution, a gateway or hub might be necessary so you could add devices with different low energy protocols such as Zigbee or Z-Wave. After all, the selection depends on preferences and budget.
Before choosing devices for upgrading the property keep in mind the cost of devices, installment, compatibility, maintenance, etc. The potential buyer is interested in connecting more devices in the future. It might be a great idea to have a gateway or hub that allows its user to connect many different brands and protocols (Zigbee, Z-Wave, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc) all together easily. This way you can make sure the property value will be to people who are already having some devices or plan to choose some new ones by themselves in the future.
