Dive Brief:
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Nine in 10 (86%) millennial renters are willing to pay more for a unit outfitted with automated or remote-controlled devices, compared with 65% of baby boomers, according to a recent study by Wakefield Research and Schlage of 1,000 U.S. renters in multifamily units.
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Electronic access features such as keyless entry doors were cited by six in 10 respondents as making them likely to rent the unit while more than half (55%) would pay more for a unit with such features than they would for one with conventional access technology.
- Millennials are willing to pay about one-fifth more for housing that incorporates smart technology than other generations, the survey found.
Dive Insight:
The changing attitudes toward what younger homebuyers value when it comes to housing was also highlighted in the survey. It found that 44% of millennial respondents would give up a parking space to live in an apartment fitted with smart technology, while 64% of all respondents said being closer to work is more important than being close to friends and family. It also found that 63% of respondents would move out of an apartment due to poor security.
The return of first-time buyers in significant numbers to the housing market is seeing more new homes kitted out with smart technology. Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home recently incorporated home automation features controllable through Apple’s HomeKit platform in two of its new communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Economists at the National Association of Homebuilders have forecast that single-family home starts will reach 1.7 million by 2017, with an increasing number of these homes to be smart home-enabled.
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