Whole Home Audio/Video

“One of the things that I'm constantly reminding builders of is an American time-use study that the Bureau of Labor Statistics does,” says Galante. “Their data reveals that the number one thing people do at home in terms of time consumption is sleep. The number two thing they do is watch TV. But because of the margins on televisions and the trade dynamics, builders haven’t shown much interest in showing a lot of live TVs in their model homes.” Galante feels that helping the buyer imagine the perfect TV viewing experience could be a big help.

Those TVs need audio, and clients often want a better experience than a built-in TV speaker could ever provide. “A surround-sound system doesn’t need to be nestled in the wallboard and sold on the front end,” he says. “The buyer can only make so many decisions during the initial process. But a buyer is eventually going to purchase a TV and likely look for an audio system for that TV — so why wouldn't you, as a builder, present some of the options and mediate the sale at whatever point that takes place?

Work from Home

“The old saying goes: ‘You can win a buyer with a room,’” says Galante. “I’ve heard it applied to real estate and homebuilding, too.” Galante notes that the “winning room” has often been the perfect kitchen for the client, but the right remote workspace can be a winner, too. “I’m encouraging builders to think about these spaces holistically and consider technology, room design, and even furniture.” The right lighting helps one look good on camera, the needed bandwidth for effective communication and collaboration is a must, and ergonomic desks and chairs are incredibly helpful. “Builders need to do more than suggest converting an extra bedroom into an office — show how it can be done in a fully-featured, fully-merchanded way in model homes and virtual presentations.”

That remote gig — whether full or part-time — may be content creation, and that likely requires an even greater focus on specialized technology and furnishings. A recording artist’s mixing board and monitor speakers need the right workstation, an influencer or video podcaster needs the perfect background, and so on. (A note: Pop star Billie Eilish’s debut album was produced in her brother’s bedroom studio — the same space where the two of them wrote the music for that hit release.)

Health and Wellness

While there’s a huge bucket of technologies that can fit into this category, Galante is focused on some specifics. “Air quality is something that builders are really embracing,” he says. “If we're going to create energy efficiency by building very tight envelopes, we're not going to get the ambient air exchange that we've had historically, so we need to bring fresh air in. When we're talking about bigger houses, that needs to be done in an energy-efficient way — we can have a lot of fans blowing that don't need to be blowing.” Smart automation that handles different zones of a home is a terrific solution, but there’s more, says Galante. “We want to modulate humidity, and of course, we want to purify the air — remove the allergens, viruses, and bacteria.”

Water purification fits into this segment, as does lighting, which may help with better sleep. And there’s another aspect of the wellness solution that gets overlooked, according to Galante: proper sound treatments. “I think acoustic design is critical,” he says. High ceilings and hard edges must be mitigated somehow, whether through diffusion, absorption, or even audio systems with proper digital signal processing. “Oppressive audio conditions aren’t good for anyone,” he says. Additionally, ensuring that the tech is highly reliable is a mental health benefit, according to Galante. “How are we relieving stress with technology and not causing stress?” he asks. To that end: “When we’re offering these solutions to homeowners, let’s be sure we’re offering them emotional, benefit-oriented solutions, and not a laundry list of technical features.”

Smart Water

When he’s asked if “smart water” refers to purification, smart plumbing, leak detection, or conservation, Galante's answer is “all of the above.” “First, having clean water to drink and bathe in — with proper filtration and so on — is an easy sell for any builder who’s looking for technology solutions that would help sell a property.” Beyond that, as leak detection systems improve — namely, offering fewer false positives — demand will increase as well (and it’s worth noting that one of the biggest drivers of home insurance claims is water damage from plumbing issues). Both of those factors tie into wellness — purification, obviously, but the mental well-being from truly smart plumbing can’t be overlooked.

There’s also growing demand for solutions that conserve and preserve this vital resource. “Whether it’s gray water systems or automated irrigation, there’s critical demand there — and, in some locations, that demand is driven by local laws. You can't build a home in Phoenix if you don't address the water consumption issue. It's about conserving and distributing with intelligence.”

Outdoor Content, Control, and More

Outdoor spaces — for cooking, for entertaining, for relaxing, for watching a movie — have evolved as “bonus rooms” over the past several years. “The really interesting thing for the technology industry is I think the builders get that tech is integral to creating interesting experiences outside,” says Galante. The problem is that many builders don’t know what may be available, from weather-resistant TVs to subwoofers that can be partially buried in the ground. “These players are pretty new,” he says. “With the national and regional builders, the tech industry needs to figure out how to work with them on their model homes and figure out what the asset base is to help them in the digital design center or physical design center to sell these things.

“Just like everything else we’ve spoken about, it’s a matter of taking all of these solutions and blending them into a holistic, experiential presentation that makes it easy for the client to visualize that dream home — and then help them achieve it.”