Residential
AI Security Cameras Win Over 82% of Homeowners, But the Subscription Costs Add Up
By Real Estate Wire Staff, . Real Estate Wire.
Four out of five American homeowners say they would pay a premium for security cameras that respond to threats rather than just document them, according to a study of 1,004 Americans commissioned by Vivint and reported by Realtor.com News. Nearly half of those surveyed, 47%, said they would trust an AI system to respond to a threat before they personally reviewed the alert.
The distinction the industry is drawing is between passive recording and active deterrence. Philip Kolterman, chief information officer at Brinks Home in Broomfield, Colorado, told Realtor.com News that a standard camera records footage and sends motion alerts but leaves the judgment call to the homeowner. An AI-equipped camera, by contrast, can differentiate a dog crossing the yard from an unfamiliar person approaching the front door and act on that distinction immediately, through flashing lights, a recorded voice warning, or a siren, before the homeowner has opened the app.
Chris Carney, described by Realtor.com News as CEO and founder of Abode Systems, "a DIY home security company in Naples, FL," said the technology can identify people, pets, packages, vehicles, and environmental factors such as rain or leaves, cutting down on the false alerts that make traditional motion-detection systems easy to ignore.
On cost, Kolterman told Realtor.com News that AI-powered cameras generally run 10% to 50% more upfront than traditional models, a rough difference of $10 to $30 per unit. The more consequential ongoing expense is the subscription required to keep the smart features active. Realtor.com News reported those fees typically run between $3 and $15 per month for a single camera, or $10 to $30 per month for a whole-home plan. Critically, Kolterman noted, canceling the subscription usually disables the AI functionality even though the hardware remains installed.
For buyers in high-traffic areas or properties with a history of package theft or attempted break-ins, that recurring cost may be easy to justify. For owners in low-risk, gated or low-foot-traffic locations, Realtor.com News reported, the full active-deterrence package may be more than the situation requires.
The risks of over-reliance are real. Kolterman was direct on this point: AI deterrence lowers risk but does not eliminate it, and a determined intruder will not necessarily be stopped by a flashing light or an automated voice prompt. Automated audio warnings can also generate noise complaints. And because the most capable features sit behind a subscription paywall, the upfront hardware price understates the true cost of ownership.
Mike Halbouni, described by Realtor.com News as a security camera and telecommunications expert at PoyntGuard Security in London, Ontario, advised buyers to verify that a system genuinely delivers early detection, instant alerts, and a deterrent response, rather than simply carrying an AI label as a marketing claim.
The practical buying checklist Realtor.com News assembled is worth noting: assess how many cameras are actually needed to eliminate blind spots, confirm the system can learn to recognize frequent visitors such as family members and regular service providers to reduce false triggers, and read the subscription terms before committing to hardware.
The broader market signal here is that consumer expectations for home security are shifting from documentation to prevention. That shift has direct implications for property managers and residential investors who include security infrastructure in their value proposition to tenants. A camera that produces clear footage of a theft is a liability exhibit; a system that stops the theft is a selling point. The gap between those two outcomes is increasingly a software subscription, and buyers should price it that way from the start.
Source: https://www.realtor.com/advice/home-improvement/ai-security-cameras-worth-it-cost-vs-benefits/