Selling a home is challenging enough without determining how to make the space appealing to potential buyers. As a homeowner looking to close a deal, you want to leverage every advantage to inspire interested parties and encourage an offer.
One of the most powerful yet underutilized tools is scent. Strategically placing essential oil diffusers throughout your home can create an inviting atmosphere and a positive emotional connection to the property.
The following guide details the essential oil scents that make a home more sellable. Implement these aromatic enhancements, and you’ll be well on your way to a bidding war and an offer you can’t refuse.
Why Scent Matters When Selling Your Home
Scents in the home can really affect a buyer’s perception of buying or not buying a home. Strategic uses of essential oil scents before showings and open houses can move a sale forward.
When your prospective buyers walk through the main entrance, their sense of smell is one of the first senses they use. Some pleasing fragrances trigger positive feelings and memories in the brain that then translate to an enjoyable experience at home.
These oils, such as lemon or orange, diffuse bright, refreshing, uplifting scents and help buyers feel at ease. On the other hand, the calming floral fragrance of the lavender oil is known to reduce anxiety and give a sense of tranquility.
On the other hand, odors like smoke, mildew, or pet smells fire up the brain’s fear and disgust centers, giving the buyer a negative impression of the home.
Using essential oil diffusers to circulate pleasant scents throughout the home helps mask undesirable odors and leaves a lasting impression.
The sense of smell is closely linked with memory, so a home that smells inviting and comforting is more likely to be remembered fondly by potential buyers.
In addition to essential oil diffusers, you can also put a few drops of your chosen oils on lightbulbs or simmering water in pots placed in stovetops. Opening up windows to improve the airing and flow of air will carry the fragrance around the house as well.
With a strategic use of scent, you can create an atmosphere that will have the buyers wanting to place an offer.
Understanding the Power of Scent in Home Selling
The scents that greet prospective buyers when they come into a home can significantly influence their experience of the place—their opinion of it, literally. So, as a seller, you might want to use the power of scent to work in your favor.
Certain scents like lemon, lavender, and cinnamon have been known for years to be uplifting and calming. Either diffused or placed on lightbulbs immediately prior to a viewing, these oils can be used to get prospective purchasers in a positive frame of mind and make a home feel cozy
Beyond primary scents, there are more complex essential oil blends specifically formulated for selling a home. For instance, lemon, grapefruit, and bergamot oils combined convey very positive and uplifting energy.
The woodsy blend of cedarwood, cypress, and juniper berry oils triggers the feeling of warmth and comfort.
Scent alone will not sell a house but pleasant smells make a home feel welcoming. They help buyers can imagine happy memories they could make in a home.
Together with an attractive asking price, desired features, and strategic marketing, essential oils and fragrances can be the icing on the cake, so to speak, that encourages a buyer to make an offer.
It is through a careful selection of scents that trigger feelings of positivity and well-being that you can place your property in the best position to find a new owner.
Read Also: 5 Best Smelling Essential Oils for Home
The Science Behind Scent and Buyer Behavior
In fact, significant laboratory evidence on how fragrances may actually affect the mood and purchasing decisions of a customer when viewing a property.
Floral fragrances, especially, have seen so much advancement in one’s mood and purchasing decisions containing fragrances featuring chemical ingredients such as indole.
When a buyer walks into a sweet-smelling home; they get a positive first impression, and their nostalgia is triggered their memories of good times or experiences.
It can be the reason that buyers find your home more and more appealing and increase the tendency to make an offer.
Effective Scents for Selling Home
It is for these reasons that scent marketing has become such an effective device for the real estate agent and home stager seeking to elicit a certain emotional response from the potential buyer. A fresh, natural fragrance with floral notes can best be achieved by:
- Lavender
- Rose
- Jasmine
It calms the buyers and makes them think the house is cozy. A touch of citrus or herb can add a bright, fresh note that feels clean and well-cared for.
Avoid using scents with unpleasant undertones, like
- Musk
- Sandalwood
- Patchouli
As these can be distracting or off-putting for many people. It is also best to stay away from artificial, chemical-smelling fragrances. Remember that too strong or overpowering scents may have the opposite effect and turn buyers away.
When scent marketing is done correctly, it creates an atmosphere wherein there’s this feel good factor in the surroundings, which makes these buyers stay longer, and that puts you at a better advantage of selling your place.
So anything which has to do with the psychology behind scent and its effects on behavior can suddenly make quite a lot of difference in helping one choose the ideal fragrance in selling their home.
The Top 5 Essential Oils for Home Selling
Essential oils can effectively maximize your chances of closing a deal when selling your home. There are fragrances that trigger good feelings in humans, and as such, making the space welcoming.
Some of the best such essential oils which can help you seal a deal in a property sale have been mentioned below.
1. Lavender Essential Oil
One of the most popular and best-selling essential oils is lavender. Its fresh, floral, and calming aroma really helps to relax and soothe any potential buyer as soon as they walk through the front door.
By diffusing the oil around the home, you can help people feel at ease in the property your are selling.
Lavender Essential Oil by Young Living
Gives off a fresh aroma that promotes relaxation — it’s a versatile plant oil that can be used topically or aromatically.
Brooklyn Botany Lavender Essential Oil
Huge 4 Fl Oz – 100% Pure and Natural – Premium Grade with Dropper – for Aromatherapy and Diffuser
NaturoBliss Lavender Essential Oil
100% Pure & Natural Lavender Essential Oil Therapeutic Grade Premium Quality Lavender Oil with Glass Dropper
2. Lemon Essential Oils
This refreshing bright citrus scent of lemon essential oil is a customer favorite and works to create a clean uplifting aroma in environments. Natural antiseptic properties work to purge both toxins and odors from the air.
Applied during open houses and showings, it makes your home smell squeaky clean and ready to move into.
MAJESTIC PURE Lemon Essential Oil
100% pure and natural, premium grade oils. Free from toxins, additives, or any nasty chemicals.
NaturoBliss Pure Lemon Essential Oil
100% Pure Lemon Essential Oil Therapeutic Grade Premium Quality (4 fl. oz) with Glass Dropper
Handcraft Blends Lemon Essential Oil
Huge 4 Fl Oz – 100% Pure and Natural – Premium Grade & Quality with High Quality Glass Dropper
3. Peppermint Essential Oils
The peppermint essential oil has a fresh, minty scent that is very refreshing and energizing. As one steps into your home, the penetrating aroma of peppermint oil makes one feel alert and very much alive. Peppermint cools also, which gives the house an open and airy feeling.
Peppermint Essential Oil by Young Living
Peppermint is widely recognized for its clarifying aroma and distinct cooling sensation when applied topically.
HBNO Organic Peppermint Essential Oil
(Mentha Piperita)- Huge 4 oz (120ml) Value Size – USDA Certified Organic Peppermint Essential Oil for Aromatherapy
Maple Holistics Pure Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint Essential Oil for Diffuser Aromatherapy – Undiluted Refreshing Aromatherapy Essential Oil
4. Grapefruit Essential Oils
Like lemon and orange, grapefruit essential oil also belongs to fragrances derived from the citrus family; however, grapefruit oil shows tangy, uplifting notes that lend the home a cheerful and carefree atmosphere.
The bright and very energizing scent of grapefruit oil affects purchasing optimism in the minds of the potential buyers.
Maple Holistics Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil
Pink Grapefruit has energizing citrus essential oils including sweet and tart lime oil plus sharp and tangy.
Handcraft Blends Grapefruit Essential Oil
Huge 4 Fl Oz – 100% Pure and Natural – Premium Grade with Glass Dropper
NOW Grapefruit Essential Oil
Grapefruit Oil, Sweet Citrus Aromatherapy Scent, Cold Pressed, 100% Pure, Vegan, Child Resistant Cap, 4-Ounce
5. Sweet Orange Essential Oils
The sweet orange oil has a very warm and radiating citrus fragrance like a sunny summer. When sweet orange oil is diffused at home, the welcoming fragrance makes one feel comforted, cheerful and optimistic.
The sweet and vibrant fragrance of sweet orange oil gives the ambiance of warmth, pleasure, and new beginnings.
NaturoBliss Sweet Orange Essential Oil
100% Pure & Natural Therapeutic Grade Premium Quality Oil – Perfect for Aromatherapy and Relaxation
Veda Tinda Sweet Orange Essential Oil
100% Pure Nature Organic Orange Oil for Mood Lift, Refreshing, Clear Head with Diffuser, 4 fl oz 118ml
MAYJAM Sweet Orange Essential Oil
100ML/3.38FL.OZ Sweet Orange Fragrance Oils with Glass Dropper, Essential Oils for Diffusers for Home
Mix these best-seller essential oils to make your house the most appealing possible for the buyers. Fresh, clean, uplifting fragrances feel optimistic, and people are going to be happy in it, relaxed, and ready to make an offer.
Make sure to diffuse them around the house and in every single room to spread the beautiful aromas throughout all the rooms of the home you are selling.
How to Use Essential Oils to Enhance Your Home's Appeal
There are many ways in which essential oils can be applied to make your house look more aesthetic and appealing to buyers. Through diffusion, it will offer a great impression along with longevity in the minds of prospective buyers.
Essential Oil Diffusers
The essential oil diffusers disperse the oils into the air, fragrancing the room. These devices create an aromatic mist with the help of water and are excellent for subtly fragrancing the whole house—for instance, using an ultrasonic diffuser.
ASAKUKI Premium Essential Oil Diffuser with 10 Oil Set &Remote Control
5 in 1 Ultrasonic Aromatherapy Fragrant Oil Humidifier Vaporizer, Timer and Auto-Off Safety Switch-White
You can use reed diffusers by adding a few drops of essential oil to a water bottle and placing the reeds inside. The reeds will soak up the oil and spread the scent around. Put diffusers in places like entryways, living rooms, and other busy areas of your home.
Spray Bottles
Creating a simple spray with distilled water and your choice of essential oils makes it easy to scent specific rooms in your home lightly. Add 10-15 drops of essential oil to a clean spray bottle filled with 4 ounces of distilled water.
Shake well before each use and spray around the room, avoiding surfaces. You can also spray entryways, staircases, and linens. Lavender, lemon, or bergamot oils are a refreshing and calming spray.
Simmering Pots
Simmering pots or simmering stovetop potpourri gently heat essential oils, water, spices, or citrus peels to fill your home with fragrance.
Add 3-5 drops of essential oil, chopped citrus peels, or spices like cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, vanilla beans, or star anise to a pot of water.
Simmer over low heat, never boiling, to allow the fragrances to permeate the home. Refresh as needed to maintain the scent. Simmering pots are ideal for open houses since they naturally scent the entire home.
Essential Oil Burner for Scented Oil
Tea Light Wax Melt Warmer Ceramic Tealight Wax Candle Burner Black Metal Aroma Diffuser-Set of 2
The final touch of using essential oils to enhance your home appeal and staging is a very natural way to provide a basic inviting aroma for those potential buyers. With some experimenting, you may find the perfect blend of oils highly ideal for diffusion.
Remember less is more; a fragrance should enhance subtly, not overwhelm. The goal is to appeal using sight, scent, and experience to merely showcase the best of your home, and you will be closer to closing the deal.
Conclusion
Getting the right essential oil scents diffused into your home can help make it feel welcoming to this potential buyer.
As scenting allows working by choosing the scents wisely which attract the feeling of comfy, tidy, and homey, it allows creating a lasting impression motivating buyers into making that offer
As you prepare your home for viewings and open houses, you should make use of essential oils in staging procedures. With beautiful scents accompanying a beautifully presented space, you will undoubtedly be one step closer to finding the perfect buyer that will seal the deal on the selling of your home.
Using essential oils is a really easy and inexpensive way to help you move towards the best price achieved in the shortest time.