August 10, 2000

New mantra: location, location and wired

Are you supposedly on vacation, yet getting nowhere in one of the longest lines ever formed in front of a can't-miss attraction?

One of the more vivid memories of my youth was standing in the torrid southern California sun, my little sister's tiny, sweaty palm in mine, waiting not-so patiently in the endless switch-back chained path leading into Disneyland's "House of Tomorrow."

Geez, could there really be such a thing as an electric toothbrush? Is there actually a portable box that you can take to the sofa and change television channels from a distance?

Amenities once found only in the Magic Kingdom are simply, and passively, common in many homes today. Given the speed of the new century's technological upgrades, how quickly will state-of-the art cool become antiquated and relatively worthless?

(Hint: Did you recently attempt to sell your 486 computer that took all your IRA money to purchase four short years ago?)

The top three considerations - location, location, location - still rule in real estate, especially if you are anywhere near a useable body of water or a captivating view. However, Number 4 has become "wired." New and existing homes wired to support home automation technologies have already become more valuable than those that are not.

Even if potential homebuyers don't want the bell-and-whistle automation package, they are savvy enough to be asking for homes capable of supporting high-speed Internet access via cable modems or digital subscriber line (DSL) technology.

And, the demand is across the board. It holds true for the high-tech-comfy Baby Boomers who want to work at home, Empty Nesters who have more time on their hands and covet a home office and Generation Xers - those fearless, independent individuals in their 20s and early 30s - who now make up one-third of the work force.

Perhaps the most underestimated group has been retirees - both early and late - who possess significant wealth and continue to work in alleged retirement. In fact, many of them say they are busier since leaving the corporate structure than they were toiling in it. Home offices are their heaven, and the results of a recent survey of developers by Builder Magazine supports that desired space. The survey found more than 75 percent of builders now includes home offices in their plans.

Del Webb Corp. has begun catering to not-so-retiring seniors with extra telephone and data lines in some of the company's home models. In Del Webb's newest Sun City communities in Phoenix; Roseville, Calif.; Hilton Head, S.C.; and Georgetown, Texas, the company has installed fiber optics systems to allow residents to hook their computers directly to the Internet.

Clearly, lifestyles are changing, driving the need for home networks to share computer resources. There already are family battles over phone time vs. computer time, so why not link the computers? Also, flexible commuters are working more regular office hours at home, while some cities with air pollution are required to allow employees to work from home. This will accelerate Internet access "anytime, anyplace, anywhere" in the home.

These networks will require fiber-optic cabling inside residences (which has more copper than ordinary phone lines) to support computers, Internet access sharing and shared-video throughout the home. The equipment will be housed in a central location, such as a master bedroom closet or a laundry room. The price for structured wiring to support these networks depends on what functionality is required, ranging from $1,200 to retrofit homes to $20,000 for systems that tie everything together.

A popular presentation by the National Association of Realtors is a video "HotWire Equip Your Homes to Feed a Techno-Hungry Market." In the film, a couple goes to bed, checking in with small, laptop computer-like devices on their nightstands. He then arms the security system by speaking to his device, while she sets a wake up command for 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m., depending on how bad traffic is that day.

The next morning while shaving, he checks the game highlights and scores by looking at an image displayed on the bathroom mirror. In the kitchen, a screen on the refrigerator serves as a telephone and scheduler, automatically re-ordering milk when an empty carton is fed through a smart slot in the trashcan.

A flat electronic tablet provides news and weather information at the touch of the screen. It suggests recipes to their daughter based on the ingredients in the cabinet. A wizard appears to help their son learn the piano.

With the exception of the smart mirror, all of the devices shown in the video are fewer than 18 months away.

That's more exciting than the debut of the electric toothbrush.

Previous columns:

• Tips on buying property in Canada, 08-03-2000
• Manufactured homes are improved and so is financing, 07-27-2000
• New wrinkle in reverse mortgages, 07-20-2000
• Referrals offer risks, rewards, 07-13-2000
• Vacation is no time for worrying about escrow, 07-06-2000
• AIRD will mean big changes for appraisers, 06-29-2000
• Rules vary on renting your cabin, 06-22-2000
• Credit: You really are just a number, 06-15-2000