What Realtors Need to Know About Selling a Smart Home

The modern age we live in represents quite a transitional period when it comes to peoples’ houses, and the technology included within. Some people are obsessed with having smart technology in the home, and you can see why. You can do everything from controlling your heating to switching off lights and even changing the lighting color scheme from a phone or other smart device.

For realtors and other property market professionals, this means that selling homes has to change as well. The way they are listed and sold needs some adapting, to keep up with smart technology. Fortunately, this isn’t a trend, and smart tech is here to stay. You’re going to have to adapt at some point!

Use Smart Home Functionality As a Selling Point

If you are looking to sell a home fast, you should try to use every different plus point you have to make the home sound appealing. Some people have been holding off on updating their existing home with smart appliances and features, and you might be able to make a home sound more appealing by emphasizing the benefits:

• Smart security can make your home more secure and easier to monitor while you are away from home, even if you are just at work.
• Smart functionality on appliances might make them more economical.
• Fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors can be more effective if they make use of smart tech.
• Smart doorbells can take video footage, which acts as a deterrent for potential criminals who would be looking to take advantage.

There are some features that are more on the side of luxury that can be selling points, too. A lot of people who are looking to buy a new house are looking to get smart functionality, but don’t want to go through the process of getting it all installed or “retrofitted”. This is one of the things that can add to a smart home’s appeal.

Marketing a Smart Home

If you are looking to sell a smart home you can take a few different approaches. Like in case of some commercial real estate deals you consider developing an RFP response system to build better proposals. In this case your tactics should include talking easier for buyers to understand, and excluding some of tech jargon and focusing more on the long-term impact of their purchase.

One common marketing approach is a focus on security. In general, if a smart home includes features like smart doorbells and alarm systems, they are far, far more secure than homes that do not. As well as being fantastic for your peace of mind, all of these smart features and functions can act as a deterrent. People will see the smart technology and be far more reluctant to try and burgle the property. 

Another way to approach your real estate marketing is to sell the convenience and luxury of the smart home. A lot of people love technology, and are glued to their phones for a big chunk of the day. This means that controlling things around the home on their phone, and being able to change the temperature whale they are out, for instance, could get their heart racing when they think about buying the property.

Do Smart Features Add Value?

Does having a set of smart features add value to your home? If you are going to install smart functions and features, it can cost a lot of money, so it makes sense that having all of these already in place can represent a higher value to the home. 

The value added is not the same as it would be if you added a full extension, of course, but people know how much time and money are required to set up smart functions and this means that you can adjust the price accordingly. The only real downside is the fact that you will need to change subscriptions and transfer any payment plans to the new owners of the house. Some smart functionality does come with a monthly subscription cost.

Summary

Marketing smart homes to smart consumers shouldn’t be difficult. If you are trying to appeal to young and tech-savvy people, you probably won’t have to do too much talking to sell the smart functions. For people who aren’t as worried about the fun and high-tech functionality, you can still make quick sales or make the smart home functions clear during the sales process as everyone will value the extra security and convenience. 

Disclaimer: This guest article was written by Victor Whittle. Victor is a real estate investment specialist, with more than four years of experience in the industry. He is specialized in real estate purchasing processes. Currently working as a Creative Marketing Specialist at Prospect Group.

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