The Smells Buyers Notice First at a Showing
A buyer walks in from outside with a completely fresh nose, into a house that has usually been closed up for hours with the heating or air conditioning running. That is the harshest possible test, and it is the only one that counts.
Below are the smells that do the most damage at a showing, what each one signals to a buyer, and the practical fix for each.
Part of our complete guide to odor removal and resale value, which covers every cause and what each one needs.
The short answer
Buyers meet a house nose first, and the worst offenders are pet urine, cigarette smoke, musty damp, cooking odor and drain or sewer smell. Each one implies a different hidden cost, which is why buyers discount them so heavily. Air freshener is the sixth smell on the list and it is treated as an admission, so the fix is source removal before the property is shown, not fragrance on the day.
- The first minute at the front door does most of the damage.
- Pet urine and cigarette smoke are the two most expensive smells to be caught with.
- Musty odor is read as water, which buyers price as a structural unknown.
- A masked house is worse than a neutral one with a small honest issue.
Pet urine
The most expensive smell to be caught with, because buyers know it soaks into things. Urine passes through carpet into the pad, then into the subfloor, and in bad cases into the joists. A buyer who smells it is not pricing a carpet, they are pricing the possibility of a floor.
It is also the smell that most strongly implies duration. Nobody thinks a urine odor happened last week.
The fix is source removal. Cleaning the carpet surface is the classic wasted effort, because the reservoir is underneath it. Enzymatic treatment applied to the actual affected material is what breaks the compounds down rather than diluting them.
Cigarette and cigar smoke
Smoke is the other heavyweight, and it is the one with the published numbers attached: up to 29 percent of resale value in the 2013 Pfizer Canada survey of Ontario agents, and up to 30 percent according to the Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center.
Smoke residue is a sticky film that bonds to walls, ceilings, trim, cabinet interiors and the whole HVAC system, then re releases in heat and humidity. That is why a house can smell fine in February and strongly of tobacco in July.
Painting over it without treating first is the standard mistake. The new coat holds for a few weeks and then the residue behind it starts working again.
Musty and mildew odor
Musty smell is read by buyers as water, and water is the most expensive word in a viewing. It sends them straight to the basement, the crawl space and the roof line, and it invites an inspection contingency written specifically to look for moisture.
The cause is genuinely worth finding here, because unlike smoke and urine, a musty smell is often still being produced. Humidity control, drainage or a failed seal may need attention before any odor work will hold.
Cooking, drains and the rest
Cooking odor, especially heavy frying, curry, fish and old grease, sinks into soft furnishings, cabinet interiors and extractor systems. It is more recoverable than smoke or urine, but on showing day it is very obvious.
Drain and sewer smell is a smaller job than buyers assume, often a dry trap or a failed seal, but it triggers an outsized reaction because of what it implies about the plumbing.
- Run water through every rarely used drain before a showing, including guest bathrooms and basement floor drains.
- Empty and clean bins, and take rubbish out of the property rather than to the garage.
- Clean the extractor filter and stop cooking anything strong in the day or two before viewings.
- Change the HVAC filter, because the system moves whatever smell is in the house around all of it.
The one to avoid adding
Air freshener, plug ins and scented candles are the sixth smell, and buyers decode them instantly. A strongly scented house prompts the exact question you do not want in a viewer's head, which is what is underneath this.
Neutral beats pleasant
The target is not a house that smells nice. It is a house that smells of nothing, so the buyer's attention goes to the kitchen and the light rather than to their own nose.
Showings coming up? Get a free quote via our contact page. We remove odor at the source with green, non toxic methods, never a cover up, most jobs gone in 1 to 4 hours, fully insured and backed by a 100 percent guarantee.
Get My Free QuoteFrequently asked questions
What smell puts buyers off a house the most?
Pet urine and cigarette smoke do the most damage, because both imply that the odor has soaked into materials rather than sitting on the surface. Musty damp is close behind, since buyers read it as a water problem and water is the most expensive thing they can imagine finding.
Can I just open the windows before a showing?
Ventilation helps a little and costs nothing, so do it. It will not touch odor that has soaked into carpet pad, subfloor, drywall or the HVAC, which is where the smells that actually cost you money are living.
Are scented candles or plug ins a good idea for viewings?
No. Buyers and agents recognise a masked property immediately, and it raises the suspicion that something is being covered. Aim for neutral rather than pleasant.
I cannot smell anything in my own house. How do I check?
You have adapted to it, which happens to everyone. Leave the house closed up for several hours, go out, and walk back in through the front door as a visitor would. Better still, ask someone who has never been inside to tell you honestly.
How quickly can this be fixed before a showing?
Most homes are treated in 1 to 4 hours, same or next day, with green non toxic methods and no long evacuation period. The main thing is to treat before photographs and the first weekend, because that is when a listing gets its highest traffic.