Make sure your home is that "cool technology house" with smart electronics like an Ambient weather forecaster.
In a crowded home-selling market, making your home stand out from the competition is key -- but it can be a challenge.
Buyers typically look at dozens of homes over the span of several days, and even with notes and photos, those tours can start to blur. During my last house hunt, I saw so many two-story, four-bed, two-and-a-half bath or three-bath homes with two-car garages in newer subdivisions (less than 10 years old), it was hard to remember one house from another. I started to 'label' each home with a short description that would help keep them separate in my mind, such as:
- The boring but well-made house
- The great-backyard house
- The hardwood-floor house
How would you label your home? How about "the cool technology house"?
Technology is hot, and incorporating it in your home is a great way to stand out and increase the perceived value of your home. And where else can you find hot tech trends than at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas every January? This year, more than two million square feet of exhibits touted the latest and greatest in video, audio and mobile electronics.
Before you go tech-crazy with your home, it's important to keep a few things in mind:
- A few hundred dollars spent on tech products will probably not make a multimillion-dollar home stand out.
- Overspending on a starter or mid-priced home might differentiate it from the competition, but you will probably not recuperate the cost.
- For most of these products, I've found that it is very important to instruct your real estate agent on how to demonstrate them and leave short concise directions in an obvious place. I recommend that you leave the instructions on the kitchen countertop and use a large font that is easy to read.
Read on for the top tech trends that are sure to help potential buyers remember your home. And be sure to check out our slideshow of products showcased at CES.
