" Whether a house or flat is light or dark, or has a fresh or musty smell can be a deciding factor."
House Network has been carrying out extensive research into whether or not the aroma of a house can alter a potential buyers perception of the property, encouraging or discouraging a sale.
Founder of House Network, Mark Readings, said: "Access to online information and more savvy and switched on buyers means that it is important to make a good first impression when putting your house on the market. We know that the most important time for a sale is the first three weeks, but it only takes one thing to put off the client and they will go online again and look for another property. The feedback we have had from buyers is that whether a house or flat is light or dark, or has a fresh or musty smell can be a deciding factor. So we are trying to find the scent which makes a difference.
“Coffee or cookies used to work in the past, but now house buyers take note of background scents from candles and diffusers, so we have commissioned a survey to find out whether it is citrus, lemongrass or vanilla which helps make a viewing into a sale.”