Top Tips on Smelling your home!
Top Tips on Smelling your home!
No no, it’s not a typo… we meant to write ‘smell’. Everyone’s heard the old tricks of brewing coffee and baking bread to sell a home – but did you know that 75% of emotions that we generate on a daily basis are associated with scent? With this is in mind, it’s easy to understand why smell is very important when selling your home… but knowing which scents to pick? Well these top tricks from the experts on which smells help us buy (or indeed, sell!), could help…
It’s easy to remember the last time you jumped out your car and was hit in the face by a beautifully warm smell of baking – it makes you hungry whilst whisking you back to your childhood stood pulling on your mother’s apron strings… supermarkets are clever, they play with your emotions and make you hungry before you can even see the food! But have you noticed that smell doesn’t hang around long once you’re through the door? That, of course, is intentional!
Scientists have found that although the delicious infused scents of vanilla and chocolate chip cookies motivates us (particularly women who are 17% more likely to want to buy sweet things on smelling a sweet scent), it also distracts us which means we are unable to perform cognitive tasks to the same ability. This is because these infused, and more complex, smells take longer for our brains to recognize and associate with – subconsciously taking up more of your ‘mental bandwidth’ than necessary. Whereas the simple smells such as just ‘orange’, allow for easier mental processing speeds.
Before blasting out a ‘one smell suits all’ candle & air freshener… it may be key to note that scent is dependent on gender. For instance it’s been found that vanilla encourages women to purchase items and spend more money (whereas men are more likely to not spend money when smelling vanilla) and men prefer rose scents when being asked to part with their cash. With this in mind, we can suddenly see how it’ll be hard to please all potential buyers…
Take a moment and look at your style of property. Is it a swanky new pad, or older and traditional.
If you’re unsure, consider asking the advice from your Estate Agent.
Now take this information and accompany the right smell to the home you’re selling. If you’re selling the family dream with a cosy cottage home, consider memories which may be associated with such a property. Warm apple pie and cinnamon scents can help create the homely feel. But if you have a new build property with more crisp design, consider white tea and fig – this scent has a clean and fresh smell that has been described by aroma experts as soothing and luxurious.
You May Also Enjoy
Why capital is staying in London despite a cooling housing market
The hidden risk of overvaluing your home when moving in today’s market
Rightmove launches next phase of AI-powered property search
Should you break things off with your mortgage lender this Valentine’s Day?
UK Finance Mortgage arrears and possessions Q4 2025
