Give clients a preview of the latest gizmos for the home featured at CES 2022.

You don’t need to attend the annual CES event in Las Vegas to get excited about advancements in home tech.

1. Firewalla is a smart firewall that plugs into any router to enhance the security of home networks, including the many smart-home devices that most households now use. It blocks unwanted sites and ads and offers parental controls and a personal VPN. Price: Starting at $140; up to $468 for router and firewall combo.
2. Roborock’s new S7 Max V Ultra is a smart vacuum with a mop. It uses sonic technology to scrub the floor up to 3,000 times per minute; the mop lifts when carpet is detected. LIDAR navigation creates detailed maps and can identify rooms across four levels. Price: $650
3. The AI-capable Samsung Home Hub, like Amazon’s and Google’s hubs, includes a screen for seeing and connecting all smart appliances in a home. Price: TBD
4. Coway’s Smart Care Air Mattress and Smart Sleep Solution detects the user’s sleep position and body pressure and adjusts accordingly. It can connect with air care products to produce the optimal humidity. Price and release date: TBD
5. Wagz is a smart dog collar and wireless fence system with an app that includes GPS tracking. Users can train their dogs with sound and vibration (not shocks) and track a pet’s paths, whereabouts, and sleep cycle. Switch on an LED for nighttime walks. Price: $250
6. Sengled’s health-monitoring smart lightbulb includes biometric tracking of a user’s heart rate, body temperature, and other vital signs. A Bluetooth mesh network can even help detect falls and send for help. Price: TBD
7. One of the biggest trends at CES 2022 was the unveiling of new electric vehicles from GM, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Sony Mobility. Several companies showcased charging solutions. For example, the Wallbox Quasar bidirectional home charger allows homeowners to charge the vehicle and use the car battery to power the home or grid. Price: $4,000

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Location is important, but your clients also should think about property management and occupancy rates before making a purchase.

With more investment opportunities popping up as the housing market begins to recover, properties that investors can turn into short-term rentals are in demand. Short-term rentals can be profitable, but that depends on a wide range of factors. Educating yourself on short-term rentals in your market is important in order to help investors achieve their goals. Start by understanding these three principles.

1. There’s more to location than you think. Obviously, your client will make more money from a vacation rental that’s in a popular tourism destination. Beach houses, areas with nightlife and cultural events, holiday destinations or places close to outdoor activities are all good bets. Rural and suburban locations typically are less appealing to the traveler. Even the property’s location within a popular destination influences decision-making. For example, a city property that is close to theaters, landmarks and public transportation will command a higher rent than one in an outlying area where it’s harder to access the city’s attractions.

But location concerns are bigger than this. Many municipalities have put restrictions on Airbnb rentals or banned them altogether. Neighborhoods and multiunit buildings may also have stringent rules around length of stay, so there may be multiple sets of rules and regulations to navigate. Educate yourself on the ins and outs of short-term rentals in your area so you can best inform your clients.

2. Property management can be intense. While short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO can streamline short-term rental property management, they can’t do it all. Someone has to interact with guests, arrange the details and clean and maintain the property. It take much more time to manage a short-term rental versus a long-term rental property.

Every time a guest leaves, the home must be thoroughly cleaned and put back into pristine order. Sometimes, the owner or property manager will only have a handful of hours to do all of these tasks before the next guest arrives. A colleague of mine once had a guest check out late, and as they were leaving, another guest arrived early. This didn’t give my colleague a lot of time to get the property in tip-top shape.

The stress and time pressures of a short-term rental should be discussed up front; perhaps your client will decide to invest in another type of property when they take everything into consideration. Or perhaps they love the idea of a fast-paced income opportunity where they interact with all different types of people. Whatever the case, it’s your job to help them be successful and give them all the information they need to make an educated decision.

3. Profit potential is high, but occupancy is unpredictable. As with any investment, a short-term rental must be able to prove ROI. There is no across-the-board number for a “good” ROI on a real estate investment, but on average, it is recommended to aim for an ROI above 15%. Your client not only will have to consider how much properties in the area are renting for on a short-term basis, based on size, location and other amenities, but will have to consider factors like their personal investment goal.

Here’s a simple example: A client purchases a rental property for $400,000 and pays an additional $20,000 in closing fees and maintenance/repair costs. For a long-term rental, they would set a monthly rent amount—let’s say $2,500 per month. If they divide income by expenses, the yearly ROI would be just over 7%. Whether 7% is a “good” or “bad” number is completely dependent on their specific financial situation and the property in which they’ve chosen to invest. (Of course, there are insurance, tax and maintenance costs to consider, but that’s another conversation.)

However, with a short-term vacation rental, occupancy can fluctuate wildly, so it is hard to say what the exact income would be. You can come close by exploring other rentals in the area to make some educated comparisons and doing some preliminary research to try to come close to estimating annual occupancy rates. Generally, short-term vacation rentals have a higher profit margin. The potential is there for high ROI, but it is a higher risk and dependent on a variety of external factors.

The benefits and pitfalls of short-term rentals all come down to context. Location, management concerns, local regulations and overall value and profitability are just a few of the moving pieces. As a real estate pro, educating yourself about the intricacies of your market will help you help your clients make the best decision possible for their real estate investment future.

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Almost every homeowner has a home improvement horror story to share—not finding an available remodeler, waiting months for appliances, having doors delivered that are the wrong size. To make matters worse, prices have skyrocketed for many items, often after a contract is signed. While these challenges don’t fall within a normal sales pro’s job, the times aren’t normal. Help ease homeowner stress by sharing these seven remedies.

1. Channel patience. The best contractors are booked farther out. Owners should be as prepared as possible by asking neighbors for recommendations, making a list of what they want done, assembling images, setting a budget, and being flexible about a timetable.
2. Consider storage. Architect Allan J. Grant says clients are concerned about delivery delays that hold up construction. One solution is to purchase goods well ahead of time and pay for a storage unit. Another is to check with a manufacturer to learn if the stated lead times are accurate, says Thomas Jepsen, founder of Passion Plans, which sells plans online.
3. Find alternatives. Research what shortages are rampant and where a replacement might work, says Jepsen. To deal with lumber shortages, Charlie Wiles of A&C Wiles Construction says he has started fabricating unavailable lengths by cutting down two-by-fours to the desired smaller measurements.
4. Scale back. For the first time in 38 years, Wiles is putting into contracts that the homeowner will cover a price change rather than have him absorb it. “We’ve never seen anything like this, with lumberyards holding a price for only two days,” he says. Jepsen says lumber was up about 400% at its worst point. Owners can lower costs before work begins by scaling back a project’s complexity and using less-costly products.
5. Consider reclaimed materials. They can adds charm, save an owner money, and contribute to sustainability. “Good reclaimed materials may be difficult to come by,” says Jepsen, “but they can be worth it.”
6. Think out of the box. Depending on the project, consider faster options such as a prefabricated accessory dwelling unit. “There are not as many supply chain issues on parts for these kits since we leverage multiple vendors,” says Jeremy Nova, co-founder of Studio Shed, manufacturer of prefab sheds. The company flat-packages an ADU kit to a site.
7. Recognize there’s no longer an off-season. Most skilled remodelers no longer have down times. In many markets, work proceeds at a frenzied pace year-round. Go back to lesson 1 for the importance of patience.

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Many developers believe that turnkey homes—high-end, furnished, predecorated homes that allow buyers to easily move in—are what home shoppers want nowadays. The trend is taking root in places like Hawaii and California and in many second-home resort communities.

Rob Kildow, director of sales and principal broker for Hualalai Realty, told Mansion Global about the growing appeal of turnkey residences in his market in Hualalai, Hawaii. Fully furnished residences will sell within days at or above asking price, he says.

“When our residents sell their home, a buyer from a smaller property here buys it and moves into the bigger space,” Kildow says. “They leave the smaller home fully furnished while they create their new residence. I then have a three-page waiting list of buyers interested in that smaller property.”

Kildow told Mansion Global there’s a “clear trend toward single-family, ‘want it now’ homes. Psychology always provides different sales drivers, and the pandemic pushed buyers on the fence to buy—in some cases ‘sight unseen.’”

A home fully furnished and decorated may have fewer surprises for a buyer. Also, during the pandemic, furniture and construction materials have faced supply chain bottlenecks that have made getting materials tougher.

Silversands Villas on the island of Grenada, Calif., is selling fully furnished homes that also feature original artwork that stay with the homes. Kandace Douglas, a real estate sales and marketing director at Silversands Villas, told Mansion Global the development is embracing the luxury “move in now” mentality that more buyers appear to be exploring.

“Turnkey homes offer peace of mind and instant enjoyment—while avoiding construction costs and labor force issues presented by today’s economy,” Terri A. Haack, president of Rancho Palos Verdes, a resort along the Southern California coast, told Mansion Global. “Time is priceless.”

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Property managers and other commercial real estate pros are increasingly leveraging “scent marketing” to boost a building’s appeal. The rules could even apply to homes.

Commercial buildings are turning to the power of smell to enhance the customer or tenant experience, matching an enticing visual space to a pleasant scent. The trend is taking hold across commercial property types—office buildings, condos, apartment units and retail stores—and in a world still facing a pandemic, a “clean” smell can spark feelings of comfort and security.

Research has shown that a pleasing aroma not only can build positive connections to a brand but also lift moods, lower stress and even boost productivity. The growing field of “scent marketing” backs up these claims. Studies show pleasant scents can lead to a 40% improvement in mood. And smells are more memorable: People recall images with about 50% accuracy after three months; but they remember smells with 65% accuracy after a year, according to the Sense of Smell Institute.

“Scent is the most impactful and memorable of the senses,” says Vanessa Brunson, senior property manager with Parkway Property Investments, a Houston-based company that owns and operates office buildings throughout the Sunbelt region. “A scent component is needed if your company wants to set itself apart from other management companies.”

Parkway has partnered with Prolitec, an ambient scenting firm, to add customized scents to more than a dozen of its properties over the last five years. Guests may smell a warm, woodsy undertone mixed with crisp green apple and white floral notes—an aroma researchers have linked to “luxury,” “sophistication” and “warmth.” But when odor remediation is necessary, like in the buildings’ gyms, Parkway uses “Mandarin Zest,” which has bursts of fresh citrus that aim to create an “uplifting and energizing” environment.

“There has been a shift in the mindset of property management to not only manage a building well but put more of a hospitality lens in place,” Brunson says. “Scent is a big component of that hospitality mindset.”

So, What’s Your Scent?

Is your brand more woodsy or floral? Scent consultants can help you decide and craft customized notes of aromas based on research that will leave a lasting impression. For example, Westin Hotels & Resorts created a signature scent for its global properties known as “white tea,” described as a blend of white tea and vanilla with cedar notes. Its lobby spaces and bath amenities, including lotions and soaps, all carry the scent to reinforce brand recognition. Customers can even purchase candles and diffuser oils with the scent and take them home with them.

Scent consultants, which are usually specialists from perfume houses, also can coordinate how and where the aroma is delivered in a building. Scent consultants at Prolitec can create a fragrance from scratch or offer a library of existing fragrances to choose from. Prolitec then uses a computer-controlled system to create tiny droplets of scent in precise areas of a building to ensure the fragrance is experienced uniformly throughout a space.

Prominence Apartments, a luxury multifamily development in Atlanta, uses scents in entryways and common areas as well as the fitness center and trash rooms. The scent diffusers have timers to control and distribute the fragrance around the space so as not to be overpowering in one spot. Prominence Apartments uses “Blue Wood,” a warm, woodsy scent, as the fragrance for its main areas and “Sparkling Lime” for odor remediation in the fitness rooms and trash areas.

“The first thing [guests] smell when they open up that door is the scent,” says Roman Guzman, a property manager for Prominence Apartments. “They ask where they can get it and what scent it is. The smell actually makes a huge impact.”

The Role of Smell in the Wellness Movement

Scent also is being used to bring comfort as many people seek cleanliness during the pandemic, says Heather Lane, vice president of commercial marketing at Prolitec. Tenants and residents may be more apt to associate fresh-smelling public areas with cleanliness. Scents also combat other building odors—especially from pets in multifamily buildings—that may jeopardize a “clean” feel.

“People today are more conscious of the air they breathe,” Lane says. “Consequently, scents are playing a growing role in the world of property management. People are returning to public spaces with a shifted perspective. They expect clean, they expect welcoming, they expect luxury and they expect wellness. In short, they expect a ‘scentsational’ experience.”

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Reprinted with permission