I've been tracking the home network and automation market for about four years now. During this time, I have urged those in the real estate industry, both practitioners and REALTOR association staffs, to consider the potential impact this billion-dollar industry is having on housing and the quality of life of real estate consumers -- to get involved with key industry players, to learn how to evaluate a home's technological capabilities and to keep abreast of networking products that are making it easier to access and enjoy a full range of content throughout the home.

Yet, in conversations with my real estate friends, I still hear, "why should I care about home networks and automation, I have enough to worry about." This year, I will tell them I have 108 billion more reasons why they should care.

"Consumers are clamoring for new digital entertainment in their homes, adding to the $108 billion consumer electronics market in the U.S. alone," said Karen Chupka, Vice President, of events and conferences for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the producer of the International CES, the world's largest consumer technology showcase which this year exceeded 1.5 million square feet and hosted 2,400 exhibitors. CES ran from January 6-9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Yea, that's all well and good," my disbelieving friends will counter, "but those billions were not spent solely on home networking products." Yes, that may be true. Consider, however, that 15 years ago when the Internet was where the home networking and automation industry is today the millions of dollars being spent on computers and technology at that time were not spent on Web site development, Internet broadband services, or transaction management platforms.

And yet, these are the three technological pieces that are vital to successful real estate brokerages today.

"People are seeing how these pieces fit together," said Bill Gates during his CES keynote session. "We predicted at the beginning of the decade that this would be the decade that the digital approach would be taken for granted. This has been a great year moving towards the digital lifestyle. I'd say it's going even faster than we would have expected."

If you believe Mr. Gates and other global CEOs, and what the 2005 CES further substantiates, the networked home is no longer the sole domain of the techno-savvy, gadget seeker who aspires to be the first one on the block to own the latest 'bells and whistles.' Innovative solutions that simplify control of home networks, as showcased at CES and featured increasingly in new and existing residential homes and commercial properties, are helping to facilitate the reality of the digital home for the everyday real estate consumer.

"Digital living is evolving to include more and more applications as a direct result of increasing options for connectivity and consumer choices," said Tricia Parks, President and Founder of Parks Associates, a leading market research firm who reported that more than 30 percent of all U.S. households had a high-speed Internet connection by the end of last year, and more than 15 percent of those had home networks.

Broadband technologies, according to the Federal Communications Commission, which encompass all evolving high-speed digital technologies that provide consumers integrated access to voice, high-speed data, video-on-demand, and interactive delivery services, are a fundamental component of the communications revolution. Fully evolved broadband, the FCC states, will virtually eliminate geographic distance as an obstacle to acquiring information and dramatically reduce the time it takes to access information.

"Enough already," my friends may say, "I'm already dealing with information overload. Cut to the chase, how will a better understanding of home networks and the industry as a whole help sell real estate?"

It's hard to argue quantitatively in fact that a general understanding of home networks and automation can have a direct impact on an agent's bottom line. Can anyone claim with certainty that a REALTOR who satisfies the quadrennial Code of Ethics requirement will earn extra money? Qualitatively, however, success for a real estate salesperson comes from understanding property buyers and sellers; who they are and what they need when the times comes to transact property. How else can an agent be able to generate profitable leads if she doesn't know whom she's trying to represent?

In home networks and automation, as in real estate, young people are a significant part of each market. Young Internet users are highly receptive to the concept of a multimedia home network, according to Profiles in Courage, a new primary consumer survey by Parks Associates. Close to two-thirds (59%) of Internet users 18-24, compared with 36 percent of all U.S. Internet users, expressed high interest in this type of network.

"This finding heralds the dawn of multimedia home networks," said Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, senior analyst at Parks Associates. "Once consumers have experienced a multimedia home network, they cannot live without it. Close to 90 percent of those who have a multimedia home network find the concept highly appealing, compared with less than one-third of those who don't have a home network at all."

As younger generations, notably those who grew up in the digital era, come of age, the multimedia home network will find even more traction, according to Parks Associates. And, to answer my friends who'd ask, "how does it help me sell real estate," it is these same younger generations of home network connoisseurs that will be, or are currently, looking to buy and sell real estate, i.e., your target market. If one of my friends can't answer home network related questions or an e-mail inquiry about a property's technology capabilities, will she be able to secure that lead?

Another signal that home networks are here to stay and consumers are ready for the digital age is the drive by industry and many of its key players for standards and certification programs. For example, Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony Corporation announced at CES that they agreed to establish an alliance for high-speed power line communication (PLC) specifications. PLC will use existing, electric power lines in the home to enable high definition video transmission and the use of Internet Protocol (IP) telephones. Home networks connected to powerlines will have authentication and encryption functions for safe and secure home networking and ultimately offer ease of use to consumers.

Another announcement has CableLabs and the cable industry combining on a platform that will enable cable service providers to solve the technology part of the home networking equation, speed the development of advanced broadband applications and devices for the home, and ensure true seamless integration among digital content devices.

America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and Pure Networks, Inc., the leading creator of home networking software and services, announced a partnership to extend a customized version of Pure Networks' home networking software solution to America Online's millions.

And, DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading and fastest-growing digital television service provider, introduced the DIRECTV Home Media Center, designed to be a whole-house entertainment solution that will allow DIRECTV customers for the first time to access content seamlessly from all television sets in a household.

"Analog has gone digital and communications have gone wireless," said Intel CEO Craig Barrett during his CES keynote in Las Vegas. "Consumers worldwide are becoming more acquainted with the benefits of the combined experience of the Web and Wi-Fi, and the ability to access digital content anytime, anywhere on any device, an experience that's on the rise, especially in the home."

Taking into consideration the billions being spent, the target market spending the money and the corporate giants driving for industry standards and certification requirements, home networks are a reality and will soon become a major selling asset for existing and residential homes. And, more importantly to my friends in real estate, real estate consumers will increasingly partner with a professional real estate agent who understands home networking opportunities and can assess a property's technology value.

Note: The Consumer Electronics Association has developed, "The TechHome Rating System" to accurately evaluate the technological capabilities of a home. For more information about CEA or "The TechHome Rating System" go to Ce.org.

Published: February 15, 2005

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Peter L. Mosca is president and founder of BAK Communications, Inc. He has over 22 years of communications and media consulting experience, serving a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the CCIM Institute and the REALTOR Association on all three levels – national, state and local. He is the Spokesperson Trainer for the CCIM's Jay Levine Academy and trains hundreds of residential REALTORS nationwide to be effective industry spokespeople. He is consistently ranked as "excellent" by about 90% of those who attend his presentations. While his principal consulting focuses are public speaking and media relations development and content delivery and management, Peter is also the host of the Voice America Network's weekly radio program, "Income Property Investment Talk," a one-hour program that brings the powerhouses of commercial and residential real estate to property investors every Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST. Peter is married 17 years to his wife Barbara. They have two children: Ashley, 15 and Kelli, 12. Hence, the name BAK Communications, Inc.