Can Smart Home Technology Increase the Value of Your House?

When you’re looking for a home, you’re probably looking for a house that is structurally sound, has no signs of damp, and is in a nice neighborhood. After all, nobody really wants to buy a property that requires a lot of work before you can move in.

Furthermore, if you’re thinking about selling your home, you’ve also probably thought about giving the rooms a fresh coat of paint and the garden a quick tidy. What you may not have realized, however, is the role that technology can have on the overall value of your house. But what technology do you need, and will it add value to your property?

The local area

Economic theory has predicted the value that neighborhood amenities can have on a person’s life, such as good public transport access and local school quality. Technology plays a massive role in this, showing reviews on the amenities in the area that you’re looking at moving to. For example, The Journal of Economics reported that homes can increase in value by 11.5% if they are located within a mile radius of a highly rated restaurant.

With this in mind, it’s always worth having a peruse online before signing any contracts, as local amenities will certainly prove to be useful resources. In settling for a lower-cost property that lacks access to local amenities, you may just be increasing expenditure further down the line, in terms of transport and delivery costs.

Speak to a professional

Whether you are buying or selling, it can be helpful to speak to a professional from the industry. With awareness of all the real-time developments that may affect mortgage deals and property acquisition, it’s definitely worth getting advice from the people in the know-how before you settle on any major decisions.

Perhaps the most efficient contact would be a mortgage advisor such as Trussle, which has a comprehensive online presence and aims to contact dozens of lenders on your behalf. The process is streamlined and minimizes stress for house buyers by taking the brunt of the load and doing the work for you. They’re free, which is obviously a bonus, and often, they’ll reach a prognosis within five days, which means there’s not much waiting around in the dark for the client.

In addition, if you’re a first-time buyer, the website features articles explaining how to buy a house, what a mortgage in principle is, and how much you can borrow. If you’re selling a property, on the other hand, they can help you make your home more energy-efficient, as well as give your home a makeover if you’re on a budget. This resource is well worth a look as you can act from the comfort of your own home and with relatively low stress.

Home security

This has to be one of the most significant pieces of technology that will add the most value to your property and can include, as we’ve highlighted here at Tech Tricks World, different features from a smart doorbell to an alarm system. Whether you live in the countryside or city, there’s always the worry that you’ll be the victim of a burglary, so adding the piece of mind of a security system will go a long way. By making sure your home can be monitored from the inside, outside, day or night can decrease the value of home insurance by up to 20%, making it more appealing to new buyers.

Smart accessories

The invention of so many smart appliances has made the experience of being at home a lot more pleasant, and they are definitely something to look into when you’re buying or selling a home. As we’ve previously reported on Tech Tricks World, some of these appliances include a Wi-Fi-operated coffee machine, so you can get your morning brew on the go before you get up, to an intelligent thermostat. This comes in handy on those cold mornings when you’re struggling to get out of bed, to help prevent dampness while saving you money on your heating bills.

Solar panels

There are so many other ways in which technology can both help improve your home, and in turn, increase the value. For example, in an article from Reader’s Digest, it was found that adding solar panels to your property can increase the price by thousands. Not only would you be saving money on the electricity you generate, but the solar panels will be seen as a positive addition to future buyers.

If you’re investing in your property by upgrading it with smart home technology, this cost should be covered by the increase in the higher value of your house. Whether you’re wanting to improve the value of your home or want to update what’s inside, so the new buyers have less to do when they move in, it’ll all work out better for you in the end.

Not only does giving your home a fresh coat of paint make it appear more appealing to buyers, but it turns out, so does the technology you’ve got installed. Technology already plays a role with house prices, from showing us the local area, but the technology in the home can as well.