Survey Finds that a Majority of Homes will have Smart Technology in 2016

A new survey released by Coldwell Banker Real Estate, which polled more than 4,000 Americans, found that almost half of homeowners (45 percent) will have smart home technology, or plan to invest in it, by the end of this year.

“Close to five million existing homes were sold in the United States in 2014, which represents a huge white space for smart home manufacturers,” said Sean Blankenship, chief marketing officer for Coldwell Banker Real Estate. “We are aiming to be the conduit between these manufacturers and homebuyers and sellers, and conducting this research was one of the first of many steps toward achieving this goal.”

The Most Popular Forms of Smart Technology

Fifty-four percent of homeowners said they would install smart home products if they were selling their home, and knew that doing so would help it sell faster. Those who were surveyed also said they would invest $1,500 or more in smart technology.

However, the survey also found that difference in income does not necessarily affect homeowners’ decisions to install smart home technology. Twenty-five percent of households who have smart home technology make between $50,000 and $75,000, versus 26 percent of households making between $75,000 and $100,000, according to the survey.

The survey also found that 36 percent of those who have smart home technology or plan to invest in it in 2016 do not consider themselves to be early-adopters of technology. In fact, older generations are adopting certain forms of smart home technology faster than younger generations. The survey showed that 40 percent of homeowners over 65 have smart temperature technology compared to 25 percent of Millennials aged 18 to 34.

Seventy-six percent of homeowners surveyed said that a home would have to have more than one form of smart technology to be considered a “smart home.” Those who were surveyed said that forms of technology that would have to be included in a home for it to be considered “smart” include carbon monoxide detectors, security systems and lighting, among others.

According to the survey, the most popular type of smart home technology already in people’s homes are smart TVs and speaker systems, with the next most popular category being security systems and temperature control. Seventy percent of those surveyed said that buying their first smart home product made them more likely to buy another one.