HiddenWires speaks with professionals to explore why intelligent homes are commanding high market premiums. But, as integration becomes expected rather than exceptional, is it lifting value or misunderstanding?
Combined market data from the last two years suggests a significant share of buyers are willing to pay a premium for an intelligent home. And in the UK alone, this trend equates to an average premium of 7.7% - or £21,774 - above the asking price, according to Samsung’s national Smart Home Buyers Index 2024.
The obvious conclusion is that people are quick to prize turnkey technology integration today. And perhaps that’s no surprise, given the shifting regional priorities in Europe and the Middle East - each with their own building needs finding expression in future-ready design and specification decisions. Yet, as interoperability improves, the very technology that once differentiated a property now risks becoming overlooked – and willingness to pay doesn’t always translate into understanding of value.
As smart home awareness gathers pace globally, what exactly does this mean for the professional trade’s image? How might greater awareness simultaneously strengthen and undermine small business? And, as we’re about to discover, what happens when more money and standardised integration aren’t necessarily a guarantee of easier resident experience?
Value perception
Rishab Narayanan, an AV professional from Dubai-based integration firm Granteq, emphasises the trade’s unparalleled grasp of system engineering. He begins: “Many people still don’t fully understand what home automation or integrated AV really involves. And just as importantly, they don’t realise that networking and technology should be considered at the same time as the interior design.
“Our role is to address this right from the start; we’ve been able to shift client understanding using the example of a corporate office, when networking and AV are always planned from day one as the foundation of the workspace. Why should residential projects be any different? In commercial environments, bringing in technology too late creates challenges - and the same principle applies in the home. But it’s not always recognised.”
Narayanan heads up HOM by Granteq, the firm’s four-year-old residential division established after two decades operating in the commercial market. Having witnessed milestones in both sectors, Narayanan highlights the comparative reward of residential projects.
Rishab Narayanan, HOM by Granteq
“I’m really drawn to how personal and unique they are,” he reveals. “Unlike the slightly repetitive nature of commercial projects, which often present us with similar spaces, every home is completely different. Every detail, even down to individual keypads, varies from space to space and requires much more collaborative customisation.
“That personal nature also makes it more complex and, in some ways, risky. In commercial projects, decisions are made using company budgets. But in residential, it’s the homeowner’s own money, which creates a very different level of expectation and responsibility.”
In the US, findings published by housing website Zillow suggests buyers are willing to pay more for homes that reflect their interests and passions. Properties with lifestyle-focused amenities and customisable finishes are reportedly selling for as much as 5.4% more than expected.
This appetite for personalisation holds a mirror up to integrated AV, a specialised sector which naturally lends itself to the luxury market. Narayanan continues: “Much like interior design, I think automation and AV should be driven by the end user rather than the developer. For example, in many developer-led smart homes, you can control lighting and shading through an app, but something as basic as turning on the water heater still requires a separate manual switch. It’s exactly the disconnect that integrated living should solve.”
Maturing integration
And so integrators are a better fit for bespoke luxury residential than the mid-market tangle of wireless protocols and electronics; CEDIA’s European market insights from summer 2025 support this view, putting most participant projects at the higher end of the price scale. Also noteworthy were the many firms specialising in premium installations for discerning clients. Could these professionals, with their expertise in lifestyle technology well established, turn smart home confusion - and even the snags of standardised integration - to their advantage?
Daryl Friedman begins by mapping what this knowledge economy could look like. “CEDIA’s aim is to elevate the smart home sector to the same standard as architecture and design,” says the smart home association’s global president and CEO. “And just as homeowners trust the expertise behind architectural plans even if they don’t fully understand them, well-prepared documentation signals the same level of professionalism in home technology.”
Daryl Friedman, CEDIA
A defining feature of integrator excellence, documentation has been celebrated in the association’s formal award categories since at least 2017. Not only does it record an increasingly complicated home system at the point of install, but it also provides strong servicing and resale continuity.
“Although homeowners may not always recognise its behind-the-scenes importance, documentation plays a vital role in ensuring usability and long-term value,” he explains. “While these systems are residential, they often resemble commercial setups in scale and complexity.
“Documentation plays a vital role in ensuring usability and long-term value.”
“Large properties can include multiple interconnected systems, making clear documentation essential especially when ownership changes hands. If an integrator is no longer involved, a new professional must be able to understand and manage the system effectively.”
A new design discipline?
Integrated technology as an architectural asset is making its presence felt, especially among the interior design community. Recent showcases like WOW!house UK even suggest distributed AV and control advancements have seeped into high-end design trends.
“The sales pitch is really about telling a beautiful story, showing how the integrator and designer sourced something truly unique through personalisation,” explains Andrea Harvey, director of design & build outreach at CEDIA. “In a market where many properties share similar finishes and features, integrated technology offers a powerful way to stand out. This variation not only enhances the living experience, but also increases the value of the home as a personal investment.”
“In a market where many properties share similar finishes and features, integrated technology offers a powerful way to stand out.”
Stepping into the role recently after more than two decades working across interior design and construction, Harvey represents the growing overlap between technology and design. As part of CEDIA’s first partnership with WOW!house, she attended the event this year to underscore integration in front of international audiences. The house itself featured integrated spaces outside of the predictable media rooms and home cinemas, reflecting how custom finishes now distinguish luxury AV.
“Architects should be incorporating technology into their designs from the outset and recognising its importance in the overall space,” she highlights. “And this isn’t just relevant for premium homes - it applies more broadly. Developers and builders should be thinking about how to offer an entry-level smart solution, with the ability to scale over time.
Andrea Harvey, CEDIA
“This could take the form of phased or tiered approaches - level one, level two, level three - allowing homes to evolve alongside the homeowner’s lifestyle. In doing so, architectural professionals can deliver more flexible, future-ready spaces that truly reflect how people live.”
Global expression
With a similar logic, Friedman underscores how home technology can cater to nuanced market needs. “These systems can be tailored freely to reflect the cultural, aesthetic and functional preferences of each region,” he says. “Whether in the Middle East, India, Europe, or the US, technology can flexibly suit the tastes and lifestyles of the homeowners it serves.”
In India, he says integrators are creating exceptional spaces that go far beyond traditional cinema rooms – effectively weaving technology into a range of scenarios as part of the overall living experience. His conversations with integrators in regions such as Benelux, Spain and France reveal clear stylistic differences: in France, projects often reach an ultra-high-end palatial level while, in Spain and Portugal, properties tend to follow a more traditional architectural approach.
"Networking and technology should be considered at the same time as the interior design."
Allison Venter from Vecolux, a distributor and KNX dealer in Belgium and the Netherlands, also addresses a culture shift in energy planning across Europe. She adds: “In our market, sustainability has joined luxury residential considerations. A new generation of homeowners expect their domestic comforts to be energy-efficient and environmentally responsible, making installations increasingly complex.
“Energy management and dynamic load management, in particular, have gone from nice-to-haves to essentials. As electric vehicles, heat pumps and solar installations become standard in premium homes, the demand on a building's electrical infrastructure grows significantly. Dynamic load management ensures all these systems work in harmony, balancing energy consumption to avoid peak loads, optimise self-consumption and reduce grid dependency.”
Standards as backbone
KNX, a home and building standard with over 500 member companies active in more than 190 countries, is designed to not only facilitate energy-efficiency but also future-ready expansion. What role does interoperability and support play in ensuring integrated systems remain an asset, rather than a burden, over time?
“As an open, internationally standardised protocol, KNX allows products from different manufacturers to work together,” says Venter. “This protects the client's investment long-term, allowing the integrator to upgrade components without rebuilding the entire system.”
She points out that every KNX installation is programmed via ETS, which generates a complete project file of the installation. Years later, any certified KNX technician can step in, immediately understand the system, and implement changes with confidence.
Narayanan makes a similar case for professional integration practice: “While developers will understandably focus on scalability and profitability, we’re motivated by a tailored experience that genuinely enhances how the homeowner lives. With new standards like Matter coming into integrated living, our job now will be to simplify complexity and provide the flexible capabilities of an integrator-led smart home at the same time.”
Measuring value
While Matter - the IP-based standard introduced in 2022 - was designed to make consumer devices work together, professional systems like KNX operate at the level of building infrastructure. But the benefits of pre-programming and long-term servicing are rarely visible to the end user. And it doesn’t help that current valuation methods do little to account for them.
“Part of the challenge is that not all interior designers are well-versed in this space,” says Narayanan. “The top-tier designers typically understand the importance of early integration, but across the wider market, awareness is still limited. As a result, the focus often remains purely on aesthetics, and technology only enters the conversation much later - becoming an afterthought rather than a core part of the property design.”
However, this gap can be seen as a competitive advantage in the luxury homeowner sphere. Friedman adds: “Metrics can be numbers and stats, but they can also be stories. And I think at this level of the market, there's a lot of word of mouth that translates into very fruitful referrals. The client who owns that technology is the best salesperson of all.”
So while integrated AV is transitioning into a core property asset, that doesn’t change the fact its original value remains obscured in today’s residential market. As standards like Matter reframe smart home around ease and interoperability, the resulting perception for the public is that integration is just another interchangeable extra. Until that gap closes, the custom integration channel needs to consider how it can leverage design freedom and lifecycle planning to secure its rightful place in property value.
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