Sniff this: the best scents for selling your home

There’s more to selling your house than how it looks. Potential buyers will use all their senses to get a feel of your place, including their sense of smell.

Better believe it — freshly painted walls, bouquets of flowers, or your dusty fur babies zooming around can all give a smell that can appeal to buyers — or turn them off. Seeff covers the importance of scents, the smells that increase sales, and advice on making the most of fragrances in your home.

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Why home scents make sense

Businesses use scent marketing to create a positive buyer experience. The same principles can apply when wooing a potential homebuyer. Positive scents can act as welcome mats for buyer noses. They can trigger positive emotions and memories, put buyers in a happy mood, and enhance their perception of your home. A lovely smell can encourage them to linger longer in your home, giving you more time to market everything it has to offer. Plus, delightful smells can help combat any unpleasant odours that may pop up before a showing.

Super smells that sell your home

The right smells can make a fabulous impression when prospects walk through your door and explore your home. But, which smells work best? GetAgent surveyed homeowners to pinpoint the scents that would make them more inclined to buy a property. Here are the results (in order of preference), along with our suggestions on how you can introduce them into your home:

1. Freshly baked bread: The delicious aroma of freshly baked bread can be as comforting as a warm blanket on a cold winter’s day.

• Get the smell: Nature's Forest Cinnamon Buns Candle brings the aroma of this delightful treat. It’s a must if you love cinnamon and nutty undertones.

2. Fresh linen: The smell of squeaky-clean clothes straight from the washing machine can hit all your olfactory hotspots.

• Get the smell: Glade’s Clean Linen Air Freshener is a beloved scent with notes of watery melon, crisp air, and a sparkling citrus blend.

3. Freshly brewed coffee: The smell of coffee can pep up a buyer’s spirits, especially if they are fans of this brown brew. It’s one of the strongest ways to make your house smell good.

• Get the smell: Africology’s Coffee & Rose Room Diffuser is a warm and spicy fragrance, laced with tea roses and the addictive smell of fresh coffee.

4. New carpet: That unmistakable smell when you have new flooring can evoke the feeling of a fresh beginning.

• Get the smell: Air Scents Cotton Fresh Odour Neutraliser is perfect when you want that satisfying clinical smell of a newly installed carpet.

5. Freshly cut grass: The sweet, sharp smell of freshly mowed grass can take you back to the wonders of nature.

• Get the smell: P&J's Fresh Cut Grass Fragrance Oil will bring back buyer memories of playing outside, having picnics, or braais.

6. Vanilla: Soothing, sweet, and undeniably seductive, vanilla is another popular scent that can make buyers fall in love with your home.

• Get the smell: There are so many options. However, a potent way to give visitors a whiff is to create a simmer pot on your stove and add drops of Robertsons Vanilla Essence.

7. Roses: This universally loved flower bursts with aromas and can make your house smell expensive.

• Get the smell: Light up Yankee Candle’s Fresh Cut Roses for an intoxicating scent of fragrant heirloom roses. It will make you feel like you’re sitting in a charming English garden.

8. Hot apple pie: Cinnamon, apples, cloves, and buttery pastry combine to make a favourite comfort food. And the smell is definitely a winner for wowing potential buyers.

• Get the smell: With Air Scents Wild Apple and Spice Air Freshener, you can bring the mouth-watering flavours of apple pie into your home.

9. Cleaning supplies: When you want to give your home a clean and fresh feel, the smell of cleaning supplies can work magic.

• Get the smell: Febreze Cotton Fresh Fabric Refresher cleans away tough lingering odours trapped in fabrics, leaving behind a light fresh scent.

10. Freshly baked birthday cake: This is a smell closely linked to your favourite childhood memories of fun, games, and tasty treats.

• Get the smell: Start the celebration with Jelly Belly’s Birthday Cake Air Freshener. Although designed for cars, they can be easily popped into a cupboard or placed in a basket in your home.

You only have one chance to make an impression. These scents can be your super weapon to leave a favourable mark on a prospect.

Tips for a sweet smell of success

The power of smell can truly come in handy when marketing your home. Here are helpful hints when making the most of it:

• Start by cleaning your home: You don’t want other smells competing with your fragrances, so neutralise odours by cleaning with baking soda or vinegar.
• Get to the source of bad smells: Stop bad smells before they happen. For example, washing pets regularly or having a dedicated outdoor area for smokers can ensure your home has a pleasant aroma.
• Turn to different smell sources: It’s not always about using an air freshener spray. Here are options you can consider: dryer sheets, fabric softener sachets, candles, floor polish, fabric spray, potpourri, scented sachets, reed diffusers, essential oils, simmer pots, wax melts, and incense sticks.
• Keep it subtle: Too much scent can have the opposite effect by overwhelming buyer senses. Use them sparingly and stick to fragrances that are most likely to appeal to a lot of people.
• Add some household plants: Plants are lovely additions to your decor. However, they also help to purify the air. The bigger and leafier the plant, the better it will be. 

Get a second opinion on your home

Scent is one of the first things people notice about your home. Being a part of the environment can make it tough to understand how it will be perceived. Call on the help of your neighbour or friend to get a second opinion. Your Seeff property practitioner can also provide you with helpful advice to showcase your home at its best. Contact our team today to get your real estate journey started.