Millennials Look Towards Hi-Tech Homes

Judith Sutton ABR CRS IDS PMN ASP IAHSP SRES GREEN

Judy@JudithSutton.com 908 803-0472

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Millennials Take Note

Millennials now make up the largest share of homebuyers, with many entering their 30s and getting ready to invest in a first home. Given their limited budgets, flexible work schedules, and tech-heavy lifestyles, their home buying needs are vastly different from previous generations. Those born between 1980 and 2000 know exactly what they want: airy, minimalist spaces that incorporate elements of nature and their personal aesthetic. Here are some tech items that will appeal to buyers!

Marketing “must-have” features can help home sellers attract this dominant generation. Here are several important features millennials look for during the homebuying process.

Smart Home Technology

Millennials grew up in a fast-paced world of tech, surrounded by desktop computers and gadgets, which is why the Internet is their go-to resource for researching listings. One survey found that 63% of millennials mostly used their smartphones to search for properties.

With their hectic schedules and inherent fluency in technology, Gen Y sees value in houses with smart home techs, such as automatic lighting, Nest thermostats, home security, smart locks, and video surveillance. They want to be able to remotely control their appliances, lighting, and heating and cooling systems from an app for streamlined, convenient living.

This age group is numerous enough and has the buying power to influence economic trends. This, combined with the affinity for technology, means that Millennials’ interest in smart technologies is why smart homes are attractive to Millennials. It might be a good idea to think about this when considering what sellers should update:

Types of Smart Home Technologies that Appeal to Millennials

Smart home technology is becoming more and more common. From smart-enabled speakers like Google Home and Amazon Alexa to WiFi-enabled home appliances like thermostats; it’s now possible to have a home where you can interact in a number of innovative ways.

This appeals to Millennials like no other generation. Smart homes are attractive to Millennials because they’re excited about the prospect of not just re-living those early memories of experiencing new technologies being integrated into their lives but because they have the unique perspective of experiencing earlier technologies and being able to compare overall tech growth since those early days. Everything is new and exciting to Millennials when it comes to consumer technology.

Top Home Tech Products You Need to Add to your home

Homes are getting smarter all the time, thanks to great advances in technology. Check out my favorite home tech products and see if you agree!

Ecobee Smart Thermostat

The Ecobee smart thermostat does everything but the dishes around the house it seems. It works well with Amazon’s Alexa and claims to save homeowners an average of 23 percent annually. It can tell when someone’s home and which rooms are occupied. Smart enough, right?

Nest Protect

Nest has got it right with the second-generation model of its Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector. (we need this to close, right?) It integrates with Nest’s Learning Thermostat and Nest Cam. It will test for low batteries and communicate with other Nest devices in a home. It can tell you where the problem is and uses two wavelengths of light to look for both fast and slow-burning fires. This is such a great idea when listing your house.

Lutron Serena Remote Controlled Shades

Let Lutron handle the hassle of opening and closing shades with its remote-controlled shades. The insulated honeycomb model has a high energy rating for drafts through windows. The shades can be controlled anywhere through the Luton App and Smart Bridge. It can even compensate for battery voltage if one shade has new batteries and the shade next to it has older batteries they will still move at the same speed. Super!

More Than A Garage Door Opener

This opener features a super-quiet, steel-reinforced belt drive rather than a noisy chain or screw drive. It also has an LED light, which should last as long as the opener itself. The light is activated by a motion detector and turns on whenever you enter the garage. But what really sets this unit apart is the seven ports. Each port receives a module of your choosing, including a fan, a CO and temperature sensor, a Bluetooth speaker that broadcasts and receives music or phone calls from your smartphone, a retractable electrical cord, a battery backup, and even a laser system that tells you when your car is parked in exactly the right spot. Now, ladies, all we need to have it do is unpack our groceries and carry them in!

Gift Ideas for New Homeowners: Smarter Smart Bulbs: GE's C Light Bulbs

The new line of LED lightbulbs from GE, simply called "C," can be directly controlled with a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth — no central hub is necessary. There are two types of bulbs in the "C" line: The "C Life" is an all-purpose light perfect for the kitchen, living room, or office. The "C Sleep" bulb has been designed to support the body's natural circadian rhythms, which can help you sleep more soundly. It emits a traditional soft light for the day; a warm, calming light before bedtime; and a crisp, energizing light in the morning. Using an app, the lights can be dimmed and set to a timer as a group or individually. When running for three hours a day, the bulbs should last 20 years! You can start thinking about replacing lights when the kids are grown and gone!

Smartphone-friendly Garage Door Opener: From Chamberlain

This Chamberlain garage door opener includes a few very useful 'bells and whistles.' It has a hefty 1-1/4-hp motor and a battery backup (so it'll work even if the power is out). The door starts out slowly, picks up speed, and then slows down before reaching the top or bottom. That, in conjunction with the belt drive, makes it super quiet. And, with the included smartphone app, you can open and close your garage door (or check if you left the door open) from nearly anywhere.

Ring Doorbell

It was only a matter of time before someone brought the traditional doorbell into the 21^st century. With the Ring Video Doorbell, you can enhance your home security and just make your life easier in general. The Ring Doorbell connects to your home Wi-Fi network and takes HD video of the area directly outside of your door. You can then access the camera's video feed through an app on your phone from anywhere in the world, whether you are in your backyard or in another country. The doorbell even has a two-way audio channel so you can have a full conversation with whoever is at your door. The Ring Doorbell can be set to send you a notification every time someone walks up to your house so you can check out any unwanted or surprise guests. In terms of design, the Ring Doorbell is not much bigger than other doorbells and comes in a variety of colors so that it works with any paint scheme.

So, considering all of this, it would be wise to consider bringing some of this technology into your home to make it more appealing and valuable for those new millennial needs. Here are two area companies you can consider carrying out installations: