Tips for Staging a Smart Home on a Budget

“…49 percent of surveyed Realtors^® who work with buyers believe staging usually has an effect on the buyer’s view of the home.” (Realtor.org)

In 2015, 28 percent of American adults had smart home features add value to the home and how this value can be showcased in the sales process.

Here are some tips for staging a home with smart home features that can be bought on a budget.

Smart Home Features Are a Selling Point

It’s important for Realtors and home owners to realize that smart home features have become a selling point in the current real estate market.

A joint Coldwell Banker and CNET survey found that among the 28 percent of Americans who already own smart home products, 81 percent said they would be more likely to buy a home if smart technology were already installed.

Sixty-six percent added that they would be more likely to leave their smart home features behind when they moved if this would make selling their home easier.

According to Coldwell Banker, the most in-demand smart home products are currently:

• Smart home security features such as
  • Locks
  • Alarms
  • Security cameras
• Smart thermostats
• Smart fans
• Smart lighting
• Smart safety features such as
  • Carbon monoxide detectors
  • Night lights

Playing up these features when selling a home will add perceived value from the buyer’s perspective.

Add Upgrades on a Budget

Given the demand for smart home products, home sellers should consider installing them as upgrades before trying to sell a home. Although smart home technology is sophisticated, it’s also affordable. UpNest reviews seven easy-to-do smart home upgrades that add value to a home, most of which cost between $100 and $300.

For instance, you can get an August Smart Lock for as little as $250. A Nest smart thermostat also costs around $250 but saves an average of $173 a year, so it may pay for itself before a home closes. A smart lighting system such as a Lutron Caseta and Smart Bridge combination also runs less than $250 and saves an average of 60 percent on lighting energy costs a year. A Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector runs around $100. Lorex home security camera systems start as low as $160.

Smart solar panels are a pricier smart home upgrade some home owners may consider. These cost around $10,000 to install, but tax credit programs can offset the cost by around 30 percent, and the investment adds about $15,000 to a home’s resale value, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates.

Smart Staging Tips

The same general staging tips apply that would apply when selling any home.

Staging a home on a budget starts with basics such as:

• Making the exterior look inviting
• Cleaning up rooms
• Decluttering space
• Maximizing lighting
• Defining the purpose of each room

as real estate writer Amy Fontinelle summarizes.

In addition to these general principles, you can take steps to showcase your home’s smart features.

Greet your prospective buyer with a door that opens automatically via smart lock.

Use smart lighting to show off your most eye-catching rooms.

Discuss the economic benefits of your smart thermostat when going over the home’s heating features.

Give your visitors a preview of the backyard and garage with smart security cameras.

If you are interested in learning more about How to Increase Your Home’s Value.

You can apply these guidelines both during physical home walk-throughs and in online property previews. You can even set up a mobile device to give prospective buyers a “test drive” of how it feels to remotely control a home’s smart features for themselves.