For many people, they will consider new construction at some point during their search for a new home. The reasons may vary, but 41% of home buyers prefer new construction over existing homes. There have been 1.3 million homes started in the past year (source), and trends are showing a steady increase in demand.
Two of the most alluring features of new construction is the ability to customize and modernize the new home. These are the top two reasons people want to purchase a newly constructed home over an older home. The newly built homes provide the opportunity to build and design a home to meet the needs and expectations of homeowners. Many builders offer several smart features in the construction as standard — upgrades and add-ons are available to customize the home further if the buyer desire.
Why do people want smart homes
The reason for wanting a smart home will vary, as does the level of technology each person wants in their homes. The main factor driving the desire for smart features in our homes is the convenience, while financial benefits play a close second. Here are a few financial benefits of incorporating smart technology into your home:
- Energy Savings. Many smart home technologies include features designed to save and conserve energy. Reduced utility bills is always a good thing
- Protection and Security. Prices of new construction vary by region and location of the country; on average, homeowners spend more than $66,000 on new construction over existing. With such a large investment, homeowners will often opt for is a smart security system to protect and monitor your home.
- Increased Resale Value. Today, smart technology in our homes is mandatory for most people. Homes offering the latest intelligent features will help sell or rent faster than those that do not. A recent study revealed, 86% of millennials are willing to pay more if the home has automated features builtin the house.
Several Builders Embrace Smart Home Technology
Meritage Homes
Meritage Homes offers a smart home option called M. Connected. The M. Connected home incorporates Wi-Fi enabled light switches, video doorbells, thermostats, advanced garage door openers, smart door locks, and weather-sensing irrigation systems. Then all of these systems are tied into Amazons Alexa cloud-based service.
The service will be activated with the assistance of an Amazon Smart Home Services employee. They will meet you at your home within 25 days after closing. They will confirm all devices are working correctly and educate homeowners on how to use all the features of their new smart home.
Lennar
The homebuilder Lennar now offers Amazon Echo and Dot as a standard feature in all their new homes. With Amazon’s Alexa interface, they can run all the other smart features like:
- Ring video doorbell
- Honeywell Wi-FiWi-Fi thermostat
- Kwikset and Baldwin smart door locks
- Lutron lights
- music from Sonos
- Samsung SmartThings hub
In May, the home builder rolled out Amazon Experience Centers in their model home. Lennar also includes an in-home visit from an Amazon Smart Home Services after the purchase of a new home. The Amazon employee will assist homeowners in the set up of their smart home technology. After the visit, there are 90 days of free support.
KB Homes
KB Home is now in partnership with Google. This partnership will work through a Google Wi-FiWi-Fi mesh network tieing together many smart home devices. Some of the planned devices include:
- doorbells
- door locks
- thermostats
- appliances
- light controls
- window shade motors
The system will be controlled by Google Assistant and will be voice-activated through Google’s Home and Home Mini smart speakers. DISH Smart Home Services will activate the installation after move-in.
How is Smart Home Technology Trending Nationally?
American households are embracing smart technology at a blistering pace. According to Statistica, in 2019, 27.5% of homes are using some form of smart home technology. With a projection of 47.4% by 2024. John Burns Real Estate Consulting conducted an independent study finding that more than 40% of new-home buyers will purchase homes with smart home features. The study also found that about 60% of new home buyers are willing to pay extra for homes with smart features.
Experts say tech leaders such as Apple, Google, and Amazon investing lots of capital in developing new smart home tech. The easy access and various options now available on the market, helping to drive consumer demand for these products.
Affordable Advances
At one time, the cost of this technology was out of reach for most homeowners and was more of a novelty for the wealthy. That acceptance of technology has helped to drive the price of smart products to an affordable cost for nearly everyone. Today, you can buy the most smart home tech for hundreds of dollars or less.
For about $600 per home, KB Home will install its smart home tech through its Google partnership. The price tag adds far more value to the new home than the cost of the products and installation. The low price point makes it an easy decision to offer smart features standard in all new home construction. When you look at the cost retrofitting an existing home with the same technology, it will become a significant remodeling feat. The upgrade would require primary wall and attic surgery, at a much higher cost. IN new construction, ensuring robust Wi-FiWi-Fi coverage by using heat-mapping or including smart gadgets into the design isn’t difficult, or expensive.
The Big Three
Google, Apple, and Amazon are the big three currently on the market. The trend has been any new tech that hits the market quickly partners with one of these big three. While I do not see either of these companies leaving the smart home tech market anytime soon. It would be a good idea to research all three to see, which is the best fit for you in a new home.
Conclusion
The homebuilding industry and technology industries are quickly merging. Smart home technologies are quickly changing how we interact with our homes. For those of us that remember the Jetsons, our current homes are not too far away, minus a flying car, jetpack, and Rosey.