#RetirementLiving - Issue 47 April/May 2020 April/May 2020 | Page 24

PROPERTY & ‘All our Cabanas, Villas and Penthouses come smart-ready, which means you can customise your home to be whatever you want – from frivolous to functional and, with that, potentially lower your monthly costs. What isn’t attractive about that? By living smarter and embracing the technological shift, you are buying yourself the time to just “live life”.’ US data shows the top reason for people opting to own a smart device in their home is to save time, followed by money. Smart devices can also track household energy consumption, so there is a greater social conscience tied to the benefit of cost-saving. Smart security On a global scale, the most-used smart devices are locks and alarms, which account for about 63% of the worldwide total. Cameron elaborates: ‘Balize Private Estate benefits from triple-layer security, starting with living in the managed Sibaya Coastal Precinct, then the Balize Private Estate Security and – the last layer – your own home security. However, having smart home security devices such as alarms, locks or CCTV adds a fourth layer, and a whole new dimension of control. Being able to control access to your home remotely, and also to monitor activity, is a game-changer.’ Smart investment ‘We know that the demand for smart homes is growing so, by turning your home into a smart home, you can potentially increase its market value by up to as much as 7%,’ says Cameron. ‘By 2020, the government wants to have fibre-optic cables throughout the country, which means internet access for all homes in the decade to follow, and the quality of connectivity