Three types of homeowners exist regarding smart homes: those who think their gadgets will magically work in any house, those who know they’re screwed, and those about to find out. The reality hits hard when moving day arrives and that $5,500 “modest” smart home setup suddenly becomes a financial nightmare.
Moving day reveals the brutal truth: your smart home setup is a $5,500 hostage situation.
Here’s the thing nobody mentions at the electronics store. That custom-fitted smart thermostat? The integrated lighting system? The security cameras perfectly positioned for your current layout? They’re basically married to your house now. Good luck getting divorced without paying alimony. Most smart devices need complete replacement rather than relocation because they’re fitted specifically to your current home’s quirks and measurements. Even with DIY options becoming more popular, installation still requires basic tools and technical know-how that many homeowners lack.
The numbers are brutal. Basic home automation already runs between $2,000 and $7,000. Want to move that fancy smart kitchen? That’s another $6,000 to $16,000 for the new place. And that’s before the moving company charges extra for handling your precious tech toys. A four-bedroom house move already costs over $9,000 for long-distance hauls. Add specialty equipment handling, and watch that number climb. The average cost of moving hit $3,020 in 2025, but that’s for regular folks without smart home complications.
Professional installation fees are where things get really fun. Those smart home pros charge premium rates for setting up multiple devices, creating custom scenes, and programming automation routines. The labor alone for rewiring and reinstalling often exceeds what you originally paid to set everything up.
Try doing it yourself? Sure, if you enjoy expensive mistakes and voided warranties. But wait, there’s more misery. Your new house might have different wiring, incompatible routers, or require additional hubs and repeaters. Some devices might be obsolete by moving time. Others won’t play nice with your new home’s layout. The complexity of technology concerns 21% of smart home buyers, and that’s before they even try relocating everything.
Moving insurance probably won’t cover tech damage either, so add those premiums to your growing bill. Here’s the kicker. Smart homes sell for an average of $1,224,763, while regular homes go for $663,847. Buyers expect to pay about $18,056 more for integrated smart tech. So maybe leaving it all behind makes financial sense. Or maybe you’re just another homeowner about to find out the hard way.