Smelling A Home Sale

When it comes to staging your home, you might find yourself thinking of those big-ticket items: changing colors, bringing in new furniture, or removing and taking out current decorations. And while these are big things that help sellers to get their homes sold and off the market, there are other factors that go into staging houses for real estate value—some of them small enough that you might not think of them.​

One of these important factors? Smell. Believe it or not, the smell of a home can majorly impact how buyers think of a space, which can help sell your home for maximum profit. Here, we’ll break down why smell matters so much and some things that can help as you prepare to sell.

Why does smell matter?

Smell is an important sense—it can help you detect dangers, like gas leaks, fires, or spoilage in food. It’s closely linked to taste, and is important in allowing that sense to function fully. But smell has other important features—even more than sight, hearing, or taste, smell is the sense most related to memory and emotion.

You might have experienced the ways that scents can trigger memories—maybe you’ve smelled freshly baked cookies and suddenly remembered scenes of your own past. Smell is also important to emotion—perfume and scent companies specifically produce scents intended to make you feel a certain way. While this emotional reaction varies from person to person—some may find a perfume pleasant, others may dislike it—there are some smells that have fairly general appeal, and smell good to nearly everyone. At the bottom of the “smell good” list were the super 70’s popular musk and patchouli.

How does smell impact buyers’ impression of a home?

When buyers tour a home, they’re often looking for reasons to rule it out—and it’s easy to give them reasons to. A violently orange wall or a bare room can make a potential buyer lose interest—and the same goes for strong smells. In recent years, strong air fresheners or artificial scents have fallen out of favor, and can make even the most modern house feel dated, as buyers remember when they were in style. Smells can take over even the largest house, and might be totally overwhelming when staging a small house.

More trendy smells? Buyers love fresh air. And if there’s any scent at all, some stagers recommend using essential oils—like eucalyptus or lemongrass. These are generally inoffensive, and have the advantage of being frequently used in places like hotels—many buyers may have memories associated with them from past trips. These pleasant associations can make it easier to sell the house.

What scents can help move my home on the market?

Essential oils like orange, lemon, and lavender can be a pleasant, non-overwhelming scent, and have the advantage of being useful for getting rid of lingering scents trapped in wood furniture or baseboards. But another scent that can help move a home? Fresh paint. This often gives buyers the sense that a house has been newly touched-up and is fresh and ready to go.

Paint has the advantage of covering lingering odors, like cat litter or kitchen grease—a strong scent that can take away from the visual impact when staging a kitchen. Some primers, like those from Kilz and Zinsser, are specifically designed to block odors, and some paints, like those from Sherwin Williams Harmony, can help absorb new odors.  

What services are there to help scent my home?

If you aren’t sure what scents to pick, you aren’t alone—some companies exist to help you with this process. Some provide ambient scent, or a gentle background scent designed to produce a specific mood in the buyers—one that you can help choose. Even better, some include an odor-neutralizing additive called Mezatene in their scents and diffusers. This can eliminate any bad smells, while the diffuser gently puts off a good one. 

How can Heidi Ross Design help me?

Wondering “where can I find a company that can help with staging for sale near me?” At Heidi Ross Design, we put our experience to use helping stage and sell luxury homes in the Memphis area—including Germantown, Cordova, Bartlett, and other locations in the Greater Mid-South region.

We can stage occupied or vacant homes to help you maximize your profit. And if you’re looking for virtual staging companies near me, we’re here to help you as you prepare your home to show online. When you’re ready to get started, contact us for a free quote—we’re here to help.   

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