What is the reason behind the growth of Home Automation System Market?

[pvrfan]

...I'm sure someday HomeKit or whatever Google is doing will tie all this stuff together ... at the cost of having your entire system run by the cloud, and for a monthly service fee.  How irritating it'll be to have to pay $100/month for your smarthome and still have it only be as reliable as your internet connection; and with new news headlines exposing how entire houses are being hacked.  It really does kill the mood for me.

This seems to come up fairly regularly, but Homekit does NOT require cloud access to execute your automation rules.  I've personally tested this where I've unplugged the router and turned off cellular data on the phone.
 
Homekit makes use of Apple's iCloud when you make changes to your Homekit configuration.  If you add a new device or change a rule, the Homekit database is replicated (in encrypted form) through iCloud to your other iOS devices.  There is no charge for this service, it is part of the base package of services.  
 
For example, if I add a new door lock using my iPhone, that information and any new automation rules would replicate to my iPad and AppleTV.  One of the interesting technical parts of Homekit is that different iOS devices can be the master at different times. I've never seen a good technical explanation of the system arbitrates who is in command.  Somehow, it does.
 
Craig
PS I don't know about Google's Thread / Weave.  Do automation rules work without cloud access?