Last month, Coldwell Banker conducted a joint survey with CNET to tap into the minds of modern tech consumers. One of the surprising results, according to CNET Editor-in-Chief, Lindsey Turrentine, was more than one in four Americans already own a smart home product. People are embracing smart home technology and they might not know it – from thermostats to connected lighting to TVs controlled through a cell phone, smart home products are everywhere.
CNET has the largest tech audience in the world and is passionate about helping them understand how technology is shaping our lives today. The Jetson’s used to be the family of the future, but that future has caught up to us. Having your home communicate to you is now attainable and although smart technology sounds complicated, most of it can be controlled with the push of a button using a smart phone and a Wi-Fi router, two things most people already own.
To further educate consumers, CNET bought a home in Louisville, KY, to serve as a “living laboratory” to test smart home products in an everyday environment.
Turrentine believes smart home technology should be simple. “At the most basic level, smart home technology is really all about making life a little bit more convenient…more beautiful…and more secure,” she said.
Below are some products that Turrentine highlighted that can make any home smart!
The August Smart Lock helps you solve the chaos of lending keys out to neighbors, friends and family. The $250 lock is a simple device that’s installed over an existing deadbolt. Once installed, homeowners can lock or unlock doors using a smart phone. The August Smart Lock app can also “hand out” virtual keys with an expiration date to other smart phones. Digging for keys is a thing of the past – the August Smart Lock recognizes your smart phone as you approach your door and automatically unlocks it.
Believe it or not, some of the most read articles on CNET are light bulb reviews. Everyone needs light bulbs, and adding smart light bulbs to your home is one of the easiest ways to make your home modern. Lutron provides some of the best in class in this category. The Lutron Caséta a Wireless Starter Kit works with your existing bulbs, so lights can be remotely controlled using a smart phone. The coolest feature is that the Lutron Caséta Wireless works with Siri. The total kit costs $230.
The Corian Charging Surface is a phone owners dream. DuPont created a kitchen countertop that charges phones, tablets and some laptops. If you own the right Android phone or a simple attachment for iPhones, all you have to do is set your phone on the counter and it will charge! For $200, you can add the charging station to a countertop, which is especially easy if you’re already installing a new countertop.
Smart home products add the extra touches that improve the quality of housing listings. Think of what a difference it would be to sell a house fitted with automatic locks that you control from your phone. What would it be like to buy a house with these features already in place? Turrentine said, “These are the type of products that your buyers and sellers are using today and will continue to look for as they search for that perfect new home or think about how to increase the value of their existing home.” Adding smart home technology doesn’t have to be expensive or take hours to configure, you can do it right now using DIY systems.
As smart home products and services continue to change real estate, you can be confident Coldwell Banker will provide you with the resources necessary to stay educated and up-to-date on the latest trends and products!
