How to Add Value to your Property with Smart Home Products
How do I add value to my property? This is the main question South African home builders and investors are asking themselves. Ultimately, the aim of any property should be to increase your wealth. You want the property to be worth more than when you bought it, so if it doesn’t meet your financial goals then it won’t be worth your investment.
Finding ways to maximise the potential of your property can be a challenge for new investors. Fortunately, plenty can be done to add value in the current South African market. It just takes a little experience and a few top tips to know what you should be looking for.
Here are some helpful ways you can add to your property’s value with smart home technology, so when it comes time to rent it out or sell it, you can look forward to greater returns.
The Rise of the Digital Home
One of the biggest trends seen in the technology space over the last few years is the rise of the digital home. Also referred to as the connected home or smart home, the name is given to homes that can be equipped with lighting, heating and electronic devices that can be controlled remotely by a smartphone, tablet or computer.
We’ve already seen how technology has transformed the way we live, work and play, so it was only a matter of time until the same technology shift impacted the value of commercial real estate as well.
Technology has added an extra layer in the search for value when analysing the potential profit of a property. So while location, neighbourhood, size and floorplan are all important factors to consider, investors and home builders need to find ways to add value, dare to be different from the competitors and find new ways to increase their bottom line through technology.
By embracing the digital home, investors can add significant value to their market price. In fact, the latest Barclays Mortgages Digital Homes Report found that demand for homes fitted with technology such as smart air conditioning, high speed internet and energy use monitoring systems is soaring.
With nearly a third of homeowners believing that a property with connected technology is worth more than one without, it’s time to add smart technology to your property if you want to attract more buyers.
The Push Towards Energy Efficiency
So why smart products? It’s simple – not only do they make our lives easier by allowing us to control the way our home runs wherever we are from our phone or tablet, they’re also extremely energy efficient.
With “energy efficient” second only to “safe community” on the list of attributes that would most likely influence a purchase decision, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders, we can see how lowering energy costs is a major selling point for today’s homebuyer.
According to Energy Star, the cost of lighting your home amounts to 12% of your home’s annual energy bill, or around 3543.51 rand a year. While this may not seem like much upfront, over time every little bit adds up. So homeowners will appreciate a property where the investor or home builder has carefully considered the costs to run it overtime.
What Smart Products Reign Supreme?
Currently, there are 7 key areas of growth in the digital home space, according to the Barclays report mentioned above. Here’s our top 3 picks from the 7 for the smart home products homeowners will be looking out for:
1. Heating & Cooling
Out of all the technology in the home, heating and cooling was voted as the area homeowners would be most likely to have installed at the moment. The trend has been led over the last few years by the rise of smart thermostats, which allow you to adjust the temperature of your property through a simple mobile app.
New devices in the market now allow you to even change the temperature in and airflow to individual rooms in the home. MyPlace Africa’s MyAir air conditioning management system comes with up to 10 zones and individual airflow and temperature control, allowing you precisely control your air con system.
These smart air con options are a must for investors, with zoning voted as the most popular feature homeowners look for when buying technology for their property.
2. Lighting
With the rise of the digital home, comes the rise of smarter lighting decisions. Homeowners are looking for the latest innovations and want to get the most bang for their buck. Now thanks to smart lighting systems such as MyPlace Africa’s MyLights, they can.
MyLights allows you to enjoy the safety, energy efficiencies and convenience of being able to control your lights remotely with the latest technology, a smartphone app! You can also take comfort in knowing you’ve reduced your lighting energy consumption by up to 80% by making the switch to LEDs – a more superior lighting system.
3. Home Hubs
Whilst the aim of connected home devices is to make your life simpler, things can start to get confusing when you purchase multiple items that all use separate apps and logins to control them. That is where the home hub comes in handy. Connecting all the digital appliances in your home in the one hub which can be accessed through one interface will make life a lot easier.
With MyPlace, homeowners now have a dedicated hub for the home. An 8-inch Internet smart home control panel, MyPlace allows you to control both MyAir and MyLights from the same place. In addition, the touch screen also doubles as an Android tablet that lets you keep track of the family’s calendar, check emails, order groceries, play music, play bills and much more.
Now is the time to increase the profitability of your property with smart home technology. For more information on how to get the most out of your investment with MyPlace Africa’s MyAir or MyLights, contact us today.
0 comments