Could Lemons Help Sell Your Home
Date Published 01 December 2016
Could lemons help you sell your home?
It's often the smallest of details that make the biggest difference and today I want you to think about your buyer's nose. Blessed as I am with a rather large nose I am keenly aware that the sense of smell can sway a homebuyer when it comes to spending time in a property during a viewing. There are some old clichés out there when it comes to scent (think coffee and baking) but new research suggests that some of the common scents many reach for in prepping a home for sale can actually turn off home buyers.
Some of the worst scents (beyond the most obvious) for folks viewing your home include: Potpourri, chocolate-chip cookies, gourmet foods, and other baked goods, according to a recent study. An example of this was on a listing where the owner, conscious of the family pet, put so many air chemical fresheners around their home that buyers were actively put off and even suspicious of the reasons why.
Researcher Eric Spangenberg, dean of the college of business at Washington State University, says that complex scents, like baked goods, can be a distraction to potential home buyers because they'll subconsciously dedicate time to try to figure out what the scent is. But at a real estate open house, you want a potential buyer not to be distracted by processing a smell. 'They are there to process whether this is a place they want to live,' says Spangenberg. Instead simple scents — like pine, lemon, and cedar — are easier to process and less distracting, Sprangenberg says.
The moral here is simple is best; Lemon, green tea, cedar, pine, basil, and vanilla were all viewed as positive. Sensory research shows that the smell of a home can affect a person's mood, according to The Sense of Smell Institute, a New York–based organization that focuses on the importance of smell to human psychology, behaviour, and quality of life.
A light floral fragrance can put people in a more pleasant mood, while citrus scents, such as lemon and grapefruit, tend to have an energizing effect. Vanilla is one scent that's universal around the globe that people find comforting and relaxing.
One final tip for pet owners (I have three dogs) Use Baking Soda! If your home is
smelling less than fresh, sprinkle some baking soda on your carpets and sofas. Let it sit
for 10-15 minutes, and vacuum it up. Baking soda absorbs odours, and will leave your
home with a neutral pallet so that you can add a more pleasant scent. You can also
sprinkle baking soda in your garbage can to eliminate unpleasant odours. This is actually a great strategy to use all the time.
