FIRST TIME BUYERS AND #SMARTHOME LIVING.
December 24, 2015
The excitement of owning your first home is hard to compete with. You’re finally on the property ladder, free from renting, landlords and house sharing. As you look round your new purchase thinking about new wallpaper, kitchens and flooring you should also be considering how do I make this home smarter.
Follow our helpful tips below to boost the IQ of your new home.
- If the property is being renovated or extended you need to install Smart Home wiring. Demand that your electrician runs Cat6 cabling for services like On Demand TV, Wi-Fi and multi-room music and TV.
- Upgrade your existing heating controls to Smart controls. Internet connected thermostats provide more accurate control, remote control and learn your heating preferences. Check out Nest for smart heating.
- Improve your Wi-Fi. Leave the days of poor wi-fi reception behind in your new home. The simple and inexpensive installation of long range, secure wireless access points mean that no matter where you are in the property you’ll have a strong signal.
- LED lighting. To keep your electrical bills down look at replacing old halogen lighting with energy saving LED bulbs. It may be a pricey outlay initially but the long term savings will make it worthwhile. To add some wow factor to rooms like the kitchen, lounge and garden look at installing colour changing LED lighting controllable by your mobile device.
- Safety first. Smoke detectors are unloved but vital devices in your home. An upgrade to internet connected detectors like Nest Protectwill provide you with smoke and carbon monoxide detection in one device, notifications to your mobile device and tell you exactly where smoke is detected in the property.
These are just some of the simple upgrades to your new home to make it smarter. Customised are home technology specialists based in Norfolk. Connect with Customised to learn more about home technology.
You May Also Enjoy
What the Autumn Budget 2025 means for downsizers
Now that the dust has settled on what was a hotly anticipated Autumn Budget from the UK government, over-50s property specialist Regency Living has produced a concise guide to the implications for the nation’s downsizers, and concluded that this Budget is going to further increase demand on England’s park home market. The 2025 Autumn Budget was…
Read More 
Boxing Day Bounce Set to Kick-Start 2026 Housing Market
Propertymark is forecasting another strong “Boxing Day Bounce” this year, as millions of prospective buyers and renters are expected to jump online on 26 December in search of a new home, triggering one of the busiest property marketing days of the year. Boxing Day has become a pivotal moment for the housing market. With families…
Read More 
Post-Budget Bounce in Homebuyer Activity
The latest research by eXp UK has revealed that the market could be set for a festive surge in homebuyer activity now that the Autumn Budget dust has settled, with the vast majority of prospective buyers preparing to resume their search and many even willing to conduct viewings during the Christmas period itself. The survey of…
Read More 
Nationwide House Price Index for November 2025
The latest Nationwide House Price Index for November 2025 shows: House prices increased by 0.3% between October and November of this year. On an annual basis, the average house price increased by 1.8%, down from a 2.2% annual rate of growth in October. As a result, the average UK house price now sits at £272,998.…
Read More 
Annual house price growth slows in November
Annual house price growth softens slightly to 1.8% House prices were up 0.3% month on month Headlines Nov-25 Oct-25 Monthly Index* 545.9 544.3 Monthly Change* 0.3% 0.2% Annual Change 1.8% 2.4% Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) £272,998 £272,226 * Seasonally adjusted figure (note that monthly % changes are revised when seasonal adjustment factors are…
Read More 
Real Estate 2026: Trends to watch, challenges to tackle, opportunities to seize
By Howard Sefton, Managing Director, Real Estate at Ingenious As we move into 2026, the UK real estate market stands at a pivotal crossroads. Economic uncertainty, political shifts, and changing lifestyles are converging to reshape how people live, work, rent, and invest. With a major Budget announced just weeks before year-end, the sector faces a…
Read More