LAS VEGAS – Smart home technology is a focal point of this year’s CES show. Coldwell Banker Real Estate is a company that has been keeping a close eye on the growth of the connected home. In preparation for CES, the real estate company conducted a survey of 4,065 adults to see how many owned or planned to own smart home technology. The results indicate the smart home may be closer than many people think.
“What we really found out in general is that there’s a lot of people that think that smart home technology is something on the fringes, but what we really find out is that real estate agents are being asked all the time about smart home technology,” Budge Huskey, CEO of Coldwell Banker, told RCR Wireless News in an interview at the company’s booth at CES.
The survey found entertainment was the gateway to bringing smart technology into the home. Smart TVs were the most popular smart device with 44% of respondents saying they own a committed entertainment product. The next two most popular technologies were smart security systems and thermostats at 31% and 30% respectively. Respondents defined a “smart” home as any home with a connected security, temperature, lighting or safety product.
Another key finding is the idea that connected homes are only for the affluent is being proved false. The survey found those with a household income of $50,000 to $75,000 per year had nearly the same amount of smart device as those with incomes $75,000 to $100,000.
Huskey attributes this to the increasing affordability of the products on the market.
“It’s really moved from something that was only for the affluent; very expensive and complex systems that were limited to new construction, to now something where devices are very nominally priced,” he explained. “They can be installed by a home owner in minutes and quite frankly they can transform a home very quickly and simply and make it a different experience.”
And it’s not just young people that are embracing the technology. Surprisingly, the study found those 65 and older owned more smart home products than millennials (ages 18-34). Forty percent of the older respondents said they owned a connected technology compared to 25% of millennials. This means there’s room to grow with the younger crowd.
The survey also found once a consumer buys one connected home product they have a tendency to want more. Seventy percent of people who already owned smart technology said they had plans to buy more.
All of these findings indicate the smart home may be closer than many thought. Nearly half of the homeowners surveyed said they own or plan to own a smart home product in the near future. This is a result that Huskey found surprising.
“I think the surprising result of the survey is that it indicated that [nearly] half of the respondents said they would have some form of smart technology installed in their home by the end of 2016,” Huskey said. “So despite what some others within the industry may think it’s not here, the consumers are telling us otherwise.”
So what does this mean for the real estate market? Huskey sees a new relationship developing between the home and the homeowner.
“It’s going to affect it in a tremendous way because in the real estate industry we’re about residential product, but for us it’s about … the experience of a home and what we’re finding is that with smart home technology … the home of the future is almost a member of the family,” Huskey said.
The smart home could also change the way we but insurance as well. According to Huskey, “insurance is beginning to really now just look at this, but first and foremost, it’s about safety and security aspects because we know there are devices now with sensors that can protect the home that can sense things like water damage, smoke, anything that could be a claim potential and now we’re talking with insurance companies that are saying that they may actually pay to install products within a home in order to ensure they reducing the risk of claims for their company. So this is going to touch every industry that is related to real estate.”
So is 2016 the year the connected home goes mainstream? Huskey thinks so.
“2016 is the year of the smart home and we say to the industry, ‘get on board’ because the consumers are there and the real estate industry better catch on quickly,” Huskey said.
Watch the full interview with Coldwell Banker CEO Budge Huskey below.
