As technology in homes has gotten smarter and more common, an increasing number of homeowners are choosing to install home security systems. Just a few years ago, only 17 percent of homeowners had security systems installed, but those numbers are on the rise. A survey by Parks Associates predicts that by 2024, nearly 30 percent of households with access to broadband internet will have a security system. While security systems provide convenience and peace of mind, many homeowners are finding that they also increase the value of your home.
This might not be a factor you think about during the years you’re living in your home, but the fact that a home security system can increase property values is a real plus when it’s time to sell. Unlike many other home improvements and renovations, a professionally-installed home security system doesn’t require a substantial investment. Even so, it comes in handy as a selling point, even if you’re lucky enough to never need it due to a home intrusion, fire, or natural disaster.
Publications such as Realty Times have looked at home security systems as they pertain to real estate sales. They’ve found that homes with security systems are more desirable to buyers than those that don’t have them, meaning that it’s easier to sell them faster and at a higher asking price. In addition to this, a neighborhood full of homes with security systems is one that experiences less crime – another factor that increases property value.
Home automation, home security devices, and emergency monitoring systems are the key elements of a professionally-installed home security system. Here’s how they can increase the value of your home, as well as increase your peace of mind.
4 Ways a Home Security System Can Increase the Value of Your Home
How Home Automation Provides More Than Convenience
Smart devices are all the rage in today’s homes. According to a report by research firm Strategy Analytics, over 200 million households worldwide had at least one smart device by the end of 2018, and that number is expected to increase by another 100 million homes by 2023. Many of these smart devices are home automation devices that make safer smart homes, as well as ones that are more convenient.
Geofencing is home automation technology that’s great for increasing the value of your home both for you, as well as for prospective buyers. This feature allows your home security system to arm or disarm upon registering your (or your family members’) cell phones coming within a certain range of the system. This means no more forgetting to arm the system when you leave and no more false alarms because your teenager forgot the PIN code when they returned home from school.
Should an alarm sound, however, remote monitoring through your smartphone and video surveillance system will ensure that you always have an eye on things. After checking in to see why your front door was opened or the kitchen window glass break sensor triggered, you can terminate the alarm or make sure the police are on the way.
Home automation devices also allow homeowners to control things such as doors, lights, and thermostats from afar. The first is helpful when you’d like to let someone in — a repair person, for example — but don’t want to make your home less secure by hiding a key outside. Remote control of your lights and thermostats, in addition to installing smart versions of these devices, can help you save on energy costs. With younger homebuyers increasingly interested in home automation, this technology is more than convenient; it can increase the value of your home when it’s time to sell.
Keeping People Out — and In — With Home Security Devices
When most people think of home security devices, they think of technology designed to keep intruders out. Professionally-installed door and window sensors will do just that and will sound an alarm if there is an unexpected breach in a point of entry. These devices have an added benefit many people don’t consider, however, in that they can also send an alert if someone unexpectedly leaves the home. This type of home security setup can be truly helpful to families with teenagers or elderly family members.
In addition to sensors, other home security devices that can add value to your home while keeping your family safe are motion-detecting lights, as well as a professionally-installed surveillance system. When intruders strike, they prefer to do it from an area they can’t be spotted. This makes dark backyards, doorways, and garages particularly attractive targets. Lights that are connected to a motion detector not only illuminate dark areas; they alert everyone to the fact that something is moving there.
Home video surveillance systems are another way that homeowners are deterring thieves from breaking in and creating huge peace of mind from being able to monitor their homes from afar. They’re an excellent way to determine when an alert is due to a false alarm and when it’s a real emergency. Doorbell cameras have become increasingly popular in the world of home security devices, helping homeowners visually verify who’s at the door, keep track of who comes and goes, and even monitor the area in front of their homes for criminal activity. In fact, some law enforcement officials in Ohio are considering asking homeowners to volunteer access to their exterior recording devices in order to solve ongoing criminal investigations.
Preparing For Disaster: Are You Ready For An Emergency?
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors aren’t anything new, but the new generation of these devices is connected like never before – and a real help for families who are proactive and preparing for disaster before an emergency strikes. Making sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are properly installed and functioning will not only protect your home and family from fire; it will also guard against a buildup of odorless-but-deadly carbon monoxide.
A complete home security system will also monitor for any natural disasters that may strike, alerting the proper emergency personnel in the case of a wildfire or a flood. When preparing for disaster, make sure that your family has an emergency evacuation plan that everyone has run through ahead of time. That way, everyone will know what to do, where to go, and how to find one another in the event of a house fire, wildfire, flood, or other natural disasters.
How to Get Home Security Insurance Discounts
A home security system can do more than increase the value of your home when you sell it; these systems can also generate valuable home security insurance discounts that can save you money right away. By some estimates, home security insurance discounts may help you save as much as 20 percent.
What discounts are available will vary from one carrier to the next, but generally, installing standard smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, as well as dead-bolt locks to further secure your doors, will generate small home security insurance discounts. You can also save money by installing an interior sprinkler system and making sure your home is equipped with fire extinguishers. Larger items such as installing a full burglar alarm system will create the opportunity for larger discounts.
Home insurance companies such as Allstate and State Farm feature details about home insurance discounts on their websites. To find out what type of home security insurance discounts your home is eligible for, reach out to your insurance broker. Saving money on home insurance is one of the many ways that a security system makes good financial sense and can actually increase the value of your home.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 35 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions, and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.
