Built-in home technology is now firmly entrenched in new U.S. homes, according to the latest report from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which reveals that installations of all home technologies in new U.S. homes increased or held steady in 2013.
Among the most common technologies installed in new U.S. homes last year, structured wiring was the most common, with installations rising 8 percent year over year to 78 percent of new homes, according to CEA’s “12th Annual State of the Builder Technology Market Study.” Home monitoring security, up three percent to 47 percent, followed.
Home theaters, up five percent to 32 percent, ranked third. New-home installations of multi-room audio (21 percent), energy management (13 percent) and home automation (12 percent) all increased as well, while stand-alone home video surveillance systems made their first appearance on CEA’s annual survey, installed in eight percent of new U.S. homes in 2013.
In addition, nearly all new U.S. home – 93 percent – were equipped with broadband cable, way up from 37 percent back in 2007. Broadband’s much higher penetration in U.S. homes facilitates and fosters higher penetration of other home technology features, CEA notes. The percentage of new U.S. homes with home offices, for example, rose to 51 percent in 2013 from 13 percent in 2007.
Recent U.S. housing indicators suggest that growth in home technology installations will accelerate, CEA points out. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) predicts there will be 1.3 million new home starts nationwide in 2014. Revenues for built-in home technologies, CEA forecasts in its latest “U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast” report, will reach $2.3 billion.
Furthermore, 63 percent of builders said home technologies are more important to their overall marketing efforts than they were two years ago, another indicator that consumer demand is growing, CEA adds. Marketing home technologies is most important and highest for townhomes (95 percent) and luxury homes (94 percent), according to CEA’s market survey.
“The market for built-in home technologies and the housing market in general are well on the road to recovery,” CEA senior manager of industry analysis Chris Ely was quoted in a news release. “Several home technologies have made the transition from luxuries to standard options in the marketplace, indicating that technology remains crucial to new home construction, even as the tide of do-it-yourself solutions rises.”
