What do you think when you hear the phrase “smart home.” While the phrase may conjure a futuristic image in your mind of home technology that may seem straight out of a science fiction movie, the idea behind smart home technology is a bit simpler: It’s all about making life as easy as possible for residents. For homeowners who didn’t grow up with iPhones and internet, this type of technology can seem like a fad that may not be worth the investment.

As a multifamily owner, it can be very tempting to resist these new technology trends, but doing so will prove a significant disservice to you and your residents. When it comes to millennials, smart home technology is a necessary amenity, and it will be on every “must-have” list when they are searching for a new residence. They know smart homes are the future, they know what which features their home or apartment needs to have, and upgrading your multifamily to be up-to-date technologically is a surefire way to attract and retain residents who want and will pay for these amenities.

Do The Numbers Add Up?

First things first, smart home technology is not a fad. It’s here to stay. In fact, the smart home market is enormous. It was worth $46.97 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow to $121.73 billion by 2022. What’s more, if predictions by Real Estate Brokerage firm, Coldwell Banker, are correct, around 45% of Americans will either own or have invested in smart home technology by the end of the year.

Don’t expect millennials to be moving out of your multifamilies anytime soon, either. All signs suggest that millennial renters are here to stay. Homeownership has fallen across the board after the financial crisis, but the biggest drop has been in the millennial generation where ownership has dropped by 21.2% since 2004. This is especially true in Los Angeles, which has the lowest homeownership rate in the country thanks to ownership rates declining by 4.5% to 47.8% since 2007.

Investing in smart technology is the smartest thing you can do given these statistics, as millennials will continue to rent as long as their needs continue to be met.

How To Make your Multifamily A Smart Home

Tell a potential tenant your apartment is a smart home and there are certain things they are immediately going to expect. And you better believe that it’s more than state of the art security and keyless entry. Here are the tech upgrades that millennials expect to find in a smart homes:

Superfast Internet: I know you could have guessed that fast broadband would be on the list, but let’s just go over it in case you haven’t got it nailed down. Let’s face it, millennials expected to be connected to the internet 24/7 and if you don’t supply the necessary wifi to do that then they just aren’t going to be interested in your apartment. In fact, fast and reliable broadband is now the single most important amenity to residents in multifamilies. To provide the best service, you’re going to want to run fiber optic cabling to every single apartment. Not only will this offer the fastest speeds possible, but it also allows the apartment owner a choice of different providers.

USB Charging Ports: If you think standard wall outlets are still satisfactory for today’s 20-something renters, you will need to reconsider that notion. Now that virtually all phones and tablets come with a USB charging cable, users don’t want to have to mess around with a plug adaptor. What they want is to be able to use their USB cable charger directly. Upgrading your power outlets can be as simple as installing a plug-and-play adaptor onto your current outlets. For those who want a more professional look, however, built-in replacements are a better solution. They require a little rewiring but the outlets themselves can be bought for around $20 apiece.

Smart Thermostats: Self-adjusting thermostats are yet another amenity that will be difficult for millennials to resist. A smart thermostat learns from you and your home and programs itself to keep you comfortable and save money. Built-in sensors detect whether or not someone is home, so your tenants don’t waste money heating an empty house. The issue for owners here is that smart thermostats typically cost around $200 more than their standard counterparts. And because energy bills are typically passed onto tenants, owners don’t directly benefit from the savings. If you cover all utilities for your apartment, however, then the savings could be enormous. Installation is relatively quick, it takes around an hour, but it should be handled by an engineer or other professional.

Using Smart Technology to Smartly Conserve Energy

It’s not just your thermostat where you and your tenants can have more control and save more money. New technologies in the realms of lighting and appliances have not only improved ease-of-use for residents, but have also made great strides in energy conservation. Consider the following upgrades:

Smart Lighting Systems: These systems use LED light bulbs and a “bridge” to connect to the apartment’s wifi and allow residents to switch on, dim, or turn off lights in any part of the home from anywhere in the world. Preferences can be set room by room or you can adjust the brightness at different times of the day. The advantages are significant. Tenants get more control than ever before over their apartment’s lighting and save significant amounts on their energy bills. This system doesn’t have to be limited to resident’s apartments either. Owners can take advantage of the cost-saving benefits by installing smart lighting systems in communal areas of their multifamily.

Energy Star Kitchen Appliances: You may also want to consider installing Energy Star Appliances in your apartments. These are appliances by various manufacturers that meet several government-backed energy efficiency requirements. While residents may wish some of their own appliances, refrigerators, laundry machines, and dishwashers could all be replaced by energy-efficient alternatives. Not only will they help you and your tenants save money, but they also tick the environmentally-responsible living checkbox that more and more millennials care about.

The Smart Choice for Owners and Millennials

Investing in smart home technology not only keeps millennials stay connected, it also offers an opportunity to implement more energy-saving practices, increasing your ROI on multiple fronts.

At REIG we like to think we’re ahead of the curve when it comes to home improvements. One of the reasons is because we are already actively involved in installing these smart home upgrades in multifamilies across Southern California. If you want to keep your multifamily ahead of the curve, then pick up the phone to speak directly to a member of our staff or fill out the new project form below and one of our advisors will be in touch as soon as possible.

What do you think when you hear “smart home”? While the phrase may conjure a futuristic image in your mind of home technology that may seem straight out of a science fiction movie, the idea behind smart home technology is a bit simpler: It’s all about making life as easy as possible for residents. For homeowners who didn’t grow up with iPhones and internet, this type of technology can seem like a fad that may not be worth the investment.

As a multifamily owner, it can also be very tempting to resist these new technology trends, but doing so will prove a significant disservice to you and your residents. When it comes to millennials, smart home technology is a necessary amenity, and it will be on every “must-have” list when they are searching for a new residence. They know smart homes are the future and they know what which features their home or apartment needs to have. Upgrading your multifamily to be up-to-date technologically is a surefire way to attract and retain residents who want and will pay for these amenities.

Do The Numbers Add Up?

First things first, smart home technology is not a fad. It’s here to stay. In fact, the smart home market is enormous. It was worth $46.97 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow to $121.73 billion by 2022. What’s more, if predictions are correct, around 45% of Americans will either own or have invested in smart home technology by the end of the year.

Don’t expect millennials to be moving out of your multifamilies anytime soon, either. All signs suggest that millennial renters are here to stay. Homeownership has fallen across the board after the financial crisis, but the biggest drop has been in the millennial generation, where ownership has dropped by 21.2% since 2004. This is especially true in Los Angeles, which has the lowest homeownership rate in the country thanks to ownership rates declining by 4.5% to 47.8% since 2007.

Investing in smart technology really is the smartest thing you can do given these statistics, as millennials will continue to rent as long as their needs continue to be met.

How To Make your Multifamily A Smart Home

Tell a potential tenant your apartment is a smart home and there are certain things they are immediately going to expect. And it’s more than state of the art security and keyless entry. Here are the tech upgrades that millennials expect to find in a smart home:

Superfast Internet: You probably could have guessed that fast broadband would be on the list. Let’s face it, millennials expected to be connected to the internet 24/7 and if you don’t supply the necessary wifi to do that, then they just aren’t going to be interested in your apartment. In fact, fast and reliable broadband is now the single most important amenity to residents in multifamilies. To provide the best service, you’re going to want to run fiber optic cabling to every single apartment. Not only will this offer the fastest speeds possible, but it also allows the apartment owner a choice of different providers.
USB Charging Ports: If you think standard wall outlets are still satisfactory for today’s 20-something renters, you will need to reconsider that notion. Now that virtually all phones and tablets come with a USB charging cable, users don’t want to have to mess around with a plug adaptor. What they want is to be able to use their USB cable charger directly. Upgrading your power outlets can be as simple as installing a plug-and-play adaptor onto your current outlets. For those who want a more professional look, however, built-in replacements are a better solution. They require a little rewiring but the outlets themselves can be bought for around $20 apiece.
Smart Thermostats: Self-adjusting thermostats are yet another amenity that will be difficult for millennials to resist. A smart thermostat learns from you and your home and programs itself to keep you comfortable and save money. Built-in sensors detect whether or not someone is home, so your tenants don’t waste money heating an empty house. The issue for owners here is that smart thermostats typically cost around $200 more than their standard counterparts. And because energy bills are typically passed onto tenants, owners don’t directly benefit from the savings. If you cover all utilities for your apartment, however, then the savings could be enormous. Installation is relatively quick and only takes around an hour, but it should be handled by an engineer or other professional.

Using Smart Technology to Smartly Conserve Energy

Smart Lighting Systems: These systems use LED light bulbs and a “bridge” to connect to the apartment’s wifi and allow residents to switch on, dim, or turn off lights in any part of the home from anywhere in the world. Preferences can be set room-by-room or you can adjust the brightness at different times of the day. The advantages are significant. Tenants get more control than ever over their apartment’s lighting and save significant amounts on their energy bills. This system doesn’t have to be limited to residents’ apartments either. Owners can take advantage of the cost-saving benefits by installing smart lighting systems in communal areas of their multifamily.
Energy Star Kitchen Appliances: You may also want to consider installing Energy Star Appliances in your apartments. These are appliances by various manufacturers that meet several government-backed energy efficiency requirements. While residents may wish to use some of their own appliances, refrigerators, laundry machines, and dishwashers could all be replaced by energy-efficient alternatives. Not only will they help you and your tenants save money, but they also tick the environmentally responsible living checkbox that more and more millennials care about.

The Smart Choice for Owners and Millennials

Investing in smart home technology not only keeps millennials stay connected, it also offers an opportunity to implement more energy-saving practices throughout your property, increasing your ROI on multiple fronts.

At REIG, we like to think we’re ahead of the curve when it comes to home improvements. One of the reasons is because we are already actively involved in installing these smart home upgrades in multifamilies across Southern California. If you want to keep your multifamily ahead of the curve, then pick up the phone to speak directly to a member of our staff or fill out the new project form below and one of our advisors will be in touch as soon as possible.