Consumer Reports Says This Game-Changing Upgrade Could Increase Your Home's Resale Value

Homeowners might want to be on the lookout for home improvements that can add value to their living space. There are obvious quality of life improvements that can make a home more comfortable to spend time in, but homeowners should also be thinking about resale value. Most people won't remain in their current home forever — with a 2025 Redfin survey finding that only 34% of American homeowners reported that they would never sell their home, leaving most to consider ways to amplify their property value ahead of selling in the future. However, while there are plenty of updates that can add value to your property, there are others that often end up as wastes of money. 

One thing, in particular, that Consumer Reports (CR) highlights involves adding smart home technology. New technology can be a major draw for interested buyers, with smart home installations that add interconnectivity and efficiency the most likely to improve resale value. According to Zillow's 2024 Consumer Housing Trends Report, 36% of buyers rated smart home capabilities as either very or extremely important when house hunting, while industry reports suggest that smart home integration can increase home value by anywhere from 3% to 5%. With the median home price reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis sitting at $403,200 in Q1 2026, that's a median expected bump of between $12,096 to $20,160 in value.

Improving resale value starts with understanding what buyers will likely be looking for when they search for a home. Consumer Reports highlights several specific upgrades to target, including things like smart thermostats and smart lighting. These can provide wireless connectivity to a home's climate control settings and lighting through an app on your phone. This gives an owner the freedom to do things like ensure they turned off all the lights after leaving for a trip or setting a home's air conditioning temperature back to a desired comfort level before getting back. 

Best of all, these upgrades don't tend to cost a ton to install, with CR estimating smart lightbulbs costing between $50 to $100, and a variety of smart thermostats coming it at under $200. Plus, according to Zillow's 2024 Consumer Housing Trends Report, homes that included smart lighting were saved 3% more on Zillow than homes that did not highlight this feature. Would-be homeowners will also likely enjoy the savings they can rack up with a smart thermostat and lighting.