Seller Tip: Smells That Will Sell Your Property

If you’re selling your home, you’ll have a bunch of people (wisely) advising you to make sure it smells nice for inspections and viewings to help your chances of landing the sale.

Eric Spangenberg from Washington State University conducted a study out of Switzerland back in 2010 to determine the most “commercially inspiring odors” – that is, what smells make a person feel compelled to make a transaction (or at the least, feel more comfortable about it).

They tested a bevy of smells with Swiss shoppers and found that simple rules.

Sales went up and people were more in the mood to buy when a single, uncomplicated odor was in the air, versus multiple or complex whiffs.

Spangenberg says this is because the more complicated the scent, the more our brains focus on processing it, rather than processing what’s around us (including stuff to buy or explore).

In a series of separate experiments, the researchers had students solve word problems in competing scent conditions. The students solved more problems in less time when the simple scent was in the air, than with the complicated one or no scent at all.

“Most people are processing it at an unconscious level, but it is impacting them,” says Spangenberg.

“The important thing from the retailer’s perspective and the marketer’s perspective is that a pleasant scent isn’t necessarily an effective scent.”

So smells can help sell your house, but don’t go nuts with the incense, or it might backfire.

Home stager and realestae.com.au contributor Imogen Brown threw in these additional smell tips from her blog:

The best smell when selling is clean, fresh air. In other words no overt smell. I always advise against the following:

• Artificial smells such as sprays or plug ins as they smell as though they are masking something (they probably are)
• Scented candles, incense or pot pourri. Scent is such a personal thing. You might think the incense sticks you bought back from Bali or the expensive candle you received for Christmas are helping the sale of your property but others might not share your taste or worse might have an allergic reaction to it.
• Baking or brewing coffee.  Staging has moved on. Most people have heard the trick of cookie dough or coffee but I think it’s trying too hard. Most buyers are wise to these tricks and might see it as just that – a trick.

 

Do you agree? What smells do you think ‘sell’ the best?

 

Disclaimer: This blog post is not to be considered legal advice. If you are seeking specific legal advice we suggest that you consult a legal professional before making any significant decisions in this regard.

Reference: Smells that sell property - realestate.com.au