Coldwell Banker Survey Finds Homeowner Interest in Smart Home Products From Nontechies

Real estate giant Coldwell Banker wants to be “the conduit” between smart home manufacturers and home buyers and sellers, it said Monday, announcing results of a home marketplace survey about home technology ahead of CES. The survey found that 45 percent of Americans either own smart home technology or plan to invest in it this year. Of those, 36 percent don’t consider themselves early tech adopters, it said. More than half of homeowners said they would buy or install smart home products if they were selling their home and knew that doing so would make it sell faster, and of that group, 65 percent would be willing to spend $1,500 or more. The most popular type of smart home technology that people already own is smart entertainment (44 percent), such as smart TVs and speakers, followed by smart security (31 percent) and smart thermostats (30 percent), it said. When asked what qualifies as a smart home product, respondents said locks and alarm systems (63 percent), thermostats and fans (63 percent), lighting (58 percent) and fire/carbon monoxide detectors and night lights (56 percent). One smart technology product doesn’t qualify for a home to be smart, said three-quarters of respondents. Older generations are adopting certain types of smart home technology faster than younger ones, said the survey. Some 40 percent of those surveyed over 65 who own smart home products currently have smart temperature products, compared with 25 percent of those 18 to 34, it said. Seventy percent of people with smart home technology said buying their first smart home product made them more likely to buy another. Coldwell Banker Real Estate is co-sponsoring the Smart Home Marketplace at CES, the first time a real estate company is sponsoring it. The company is hosting the "Selling Smarter: Real Estate and The Smart Home" conference Wednesday, with representatives from August, Lutron and Nest, who will discuss "smart" as a new trend in real estate. CES is the latest smart home initiative for Coldwell Banker. CEDIA said last month it's in talks with Coldwell Banker (see 1512230052) to involve member integrators in the sale of homes valued at $1 million or more. The smart home survey was done in October by Harris Poll with 4,065 adults ages 18 and over, including 1,009 who owned at least one smart home product. For the survey, "smart home technology/products" were defined as products or tools that aid in controlling a home's functions such as lighting, temperature, security, safety, and entertainment, either remotely by a phone, tablet, computer or with a separate automatic system within the home itself.