If you tour a lot of homes for sale, it soon becomes clear what amenities one expects to find in great homes, though perhaps not considered to be in the "high-end" range.
You might expect, for example, triple-crown moulding, granite counter-tops, stainless appliances and extra-large walk-in closets. In terms of electronics, you might look for flatscreen TVs, built-in speakers (both indoor and out) or even a security system with closed circuit cameras.
But consider what your reaction to the home is when you find a dedicated media room or even a home theater? Or perhaps you learn the home features fully-distributed audio and video to all the rooms in the house. How does that affect the home's desirability factor? Then again, what if you learned the home is programmed to operate from a tablet or remotely from your smart phone?--adjust the temperature, check the security cameras, or turn lights on or off? Wouldn't any of these amenities create the sort of "wow" factor that tells you THIS home seller has one great home!?
Distinctive home electronic systems not only put the "style" in your lifestyle but could be the very thing that helps your own home outclass the others on the market when its time to sell.
Jerry Del Colliano write in hometheaterreview.com:
In high-end homes, expectations of media rooms, highly programmed home automation and AV trickery are expected, but what about in a more modest house? Laura Gallagher is a Remax real estate agent in Collegeville, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia), who says, "Often, we see media rooms as part of finished basements in the homes in our market which average about $375,000 a property. While I don't think an appraiser would put a specific premium on the value of a home because of a distributed audio system or media room, it sure does help differentiate a home from the competition. In developments where one house is very similar to the next and there are many houses for sale at any given time, the one with the flat-screen TVs, media room or even the sub-zero fridge will sell first."
No one can predict the value someone else will place on any amenity in your home. But the high-end nature of superb A/V systems can go a long way to setting your home apart from ALL the rest on the market.
by Bryan Naquin. Follow Bryan on Twitter @ACIexperts. And you can always contact him at 225.906.2589 or by email at