By Emily Hassett

Published Mar 23, 2017

Updated Dec 23, 2023

Picture this: you forgot to grab your keys on the way out of your apartment and had to pay a $50 lockout fee just to come home. Upon walking through your apartment door, you realize that your heat has stopped working properly, so your apartment is ice cold. You drop your bags and head to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, only to realize you’re fresh out of milk.

Pretty frustrating, right?

Now, imagine you could unlock your apartment door using your smartphone, which you’re never without. Say you’re also able to receive email and text alerts if your heater malfunctions, allowing you to make arrangements to get it fixed as soon as it happens and come home to a nice, warm apartment. And your refrigerator can sense when you’re low on milk, add it straight to an electronic grocery list, and remind you to hit the supermarket beforehand.

Now that’s more like it.

While the latter scenario may sound like it’s straight out of a futuristic sci-fi movie, it’s actually not so far-fetched. Smart home technology is rapidly advancing, allowing more and more automation to enter the multifamily living experience.

As new smart home features continue to emerge, residents are becoming increasingly drawn to communities that go the extra technological mile. Here are 6 reasons residents are finding smart properties simply irresistible:

Reliance on Technology

Everyone uses technology. According to Forbes, a typical home will have, on average, 7 connected devices in use on a daily basis. And internet usage on mobile devices accounts for nearly 30% of all internet usage at home. Therefore, implementing smart home technologies is the perfect way to cater to your residents’ tech-centric lives. Properties that incorporate smart home technology will feel like a natural fit for those with technologically savvy lifestyles, leading to more signed leases, referrals, and happier residents.

Savings

Certain smart home technologies can track things like energy consumption and generate reports on resident usage. This data can be used to monitor in-home devices, allowing you to be proactive about faulty or defective devices and fix them before they break, drastically decreasing the risk of resident panic when things go wrong. Additionally, these technologies can provide residents with insight into their own personal usage habits, allowing them to make smarter choices and conserve when possible.

Wow Factor

When touring comparable properties, it can become difficult for prospective residents to differentiate and make a decision. However, if one property implements smart home technology and the other does not, the dilemma becomes a no-brainer. Because once residents are exposed to the wonders of smart home technologies, they won’t be able to imagine a life without them.

Convenience

Simply put, automation technology is making the ability to control home environments much more accessible for residents. Drawing the blinds, changing the room temperature, and controlling the lights (as Philips Hue enables people to) can all be handled from a smartphone. Now that’s convenient.

Peace of Mind

Smart home technology can also relieve residents from having to worry about the little things. For example, losing your keys or leaving the stove on aren’t causes for concern when your smartphone unlocks your front door and your oven automatically turns off after a specified length of time. Previously tragic mistakes are no longer a problem — a relief for busy or forgetful residents.

Better Resident Experience

Incorporating technology into your property whenever and wherever possible contributes to an efficient, more personalized resident experience. With Updater, you can begin offering such a “smart” experience before your residents even move in! Updater gives your residents an all-encompassing app for moving, designed to help them complete all of their moving-related tasks in a single dashboard. They’ll be able to seamlessly forward mail, connect utilities, update accounts, hook up home services, and much more. It’s the perfect way to incorporate technology into your residents’ living experience right from the get-go.

Emily Hassett

Emily is a Senior Marketing Manager at Updater leading all real estate marketing initiatives. Outside of work, you can find Emily traveling, trying new coffee shops and restaurants, or petting every dog she walks by.