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Cookies might not sell a house, but (if they're good enough) they are just one of the things that make a house "sticky" in a buyer's mind when they're looking at 6 or 10 houses in a day, and maybe more than that in a weekend. In summer, I tend to leave bottles of cold water in the fridge in vacant houses with a note on the front of the fridge inviting them to take one (it can be hot work looking at houses here in the summer); that's just another way, they'll remember "the house with the water" and more details about it. You'd be amazed how much candy I go through, leaving a bowl of individual chocolate candies in a home.
But only if the house isn't a pigsty - if it is, that's what will make it stick, in a bad way, in their minds.
I have walked into houses were cookies had just been baked and
it seemed way too desperate to me.
I am able to see past dirt and really do not want to be "sold" on a house by
anyone but me.
Why are people stuck on cookies, no one is advocating baking cookies for the sale of a home. however, I've never seen anyone frowning on the smell of baked cookies as opposed to a dirty/urine smelly home
The general consensus is that a clean, fresh, neat, home is best, but price and location will trump all.
nothing wrong with cookies...but the "trick" is just sooooooooo passe...that i'm really surprised people are still doing it!
i've just seen a house a couple of days back where the basement is so filled with stuffs that i can't get to the furnace/water heater...or see the walls/floor even.
i don't need the place to be spick and span especially when i know some sellers have kids/pets around the house....but i need to be able to see the walls/floorings at least! =P
there was this house that i saw....which was occupied by some tenants...and the entire place looked as if a big hurricane had swept through it....there were toys and stuffs everywhere....on the floor, on every possible surface found in every room....it was hilarious. the realtor rolled her eyeballs and almost wanted to bolt out the door but we were totally unfazed. hahaha
and the cookies...they are such a laugh!! do cookies really sell a house??!
Of course cookies don't sell a house. The house sells the house. But cookies, or whatever other pleasant scents you may prefer, help to set a mood. It smells comfortable. A fireplace with a fire going in it feels homey. Music playing quietly in the background sounds relaxing. By making the house a more pleasant place, you are encouraging visitors to feel at home, to stay, look around, take their time, and hopfully fall in love with the house.
Of course cookies don't sell a house. The house sells the house. But cookies, or whatever other pleasant scents you may prefer, help to set a mood. It smells comfortable. A fireplace with a fire going in it feels homey. Music playing quietly in the background sounds relaxing. By making the house a more pleasant place, you are encouraging visitors to feel at home, to stay, look around, take their time, and hopfully fall in love with the house.
maybe i'm just too practical....i never like to "fall in love" with a house such that i don't think straight...so am always very wary about the nice things that the sellers/realtors try to do to the house to make me feel emotionally attached to it....'cos i know all these attachments/feelings that i have are not gonna be there once the house is strip bare of the furnishings/appliances...and yes, of the cookies too *sob*!
but alas...i've a weakness for a fantastic view. so yeah...different strokes for different folks i guess.
by the way...why do they bake cookies but not offer the cookies to the potential buyers? =PP i'm grouchy when i'm hungry
note to sellers/realtors: don't turn on the music too loud...i had a hard time competing with the loud music when trying to talk to the seller's realtor in one of the houses...in the end, i had to talk to her outside the house in the cold. not good.
Wait. The cookies not left out on a plate for the buyers? Not in my listings! Cookie crumbs are a small price to pay for buyers who are eating chocolate while looking at the house!
Wait. The cookies not left out on a plate for the buyers? Not in my listings! Cookie crumbs are a small price to pay for buyers who are eating chocolate while looking at the house!
I've seen some people (both sellers and real estate agents) put the smell of cookies without the actual cookies. Frequently it's the cookie scented candle. I know one woman who got an oil that you put a drop or two of on a light bulb. The heat activates it, diffusing a cookie scent through the room.
I'm with you. If there is a cookie scent in a house I'm showing, it's because there are actual cookies being baked, which then go on a plate to be enjoyed by visitors. At more than one open house, parents have left there kids in the kitchen eating cookies & drinking milk (also supplied by me) while they toured the house. Made it much more relaxing, so they could look & talk without worrying about what their kids might bump into or accidentally knock down.
In the winter, I switch to hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, and candy cane stirrers.
note to sellers/realtors: don't turn on the music too loud...i had a hard time competing with the loud music when trying to talk to the seller's realtor in one of the houses...in the end, i had to talk to her outside the house in the cold. not good.
LOL, that happened to us accidentally once. We left some nice soft jazz playing when we left the house, when we returned the music was blasting! There must have been a power blib or something that reset our stereo tot he highest volume. All I can do is hope that it happened after the showing and that nobody's ears were injured (we never heard anything about it from the realtor). We never leave music playing anymore!
I do confess....I am a bit of a foodie and I have never been known to refuse a warm Nestle's Tollhouse cookie. I think the chocolate in the chocolate chips also impacts mood....chocolate contains chemicals that cause the release of certain endorphines in the brain that make us feel pleasure. I think the job of the sellers/realtors is to help people envision themselves living in the house, and to evoke positive feelings about being in the house during their brief tour. In that respect, using pleasant sensory "gimicks" like baked cookies, soft music, etc. is a simple, inexpensive marketing strategy that can help. I have also toured houses where the dining room table was beautifully set for dinner....yes, it was staged and artificial, but it did draw attention to the beautiful room, view, windows, and ambiance. For people who process information visually, this type of staging can help them decide how they really feel about a particular house.
The other disadvantage to showing a dirty or shabby looking house is that many buyers assume that if you didn't keep up with the superficial maintanence, you must have also neglected mechanical and structural maintenance. If the house seems "uncared for", I am more nervous about the systems and what I may find in a home inspection (or what a home inspector may miss).
I do agree that too many people overlook the important things when house hunting (think "Househunters" on HGTV), and value the superficial things like paint color and fixtures instead of layout, location, square-footage, etc. But I think the OP in this thread is questioning why, in a difficult and competative real estate market, sellers would not do everything possible to show their house in the best possible light? Why would sellers risk losing money on the sale by not showing the house clean, at a minumum? Is it simple laziness? A lack of maturity? A lack of respct for the value of a dollar?
I do think the realtors should continue with the cookie trick...just make sure you leave them out for the buyers!
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) they are just one of the things that make a house "sticky" in a buyer's mind when they're looking at 6 or 10 houses in a day, and maybe more than that in a weekend. In summer, I tend to leave bottles of cold water in the fridge in vacant houses with a note on the front of the fridge inviting them to take one (it can be hot work looking at houses here in the summer); that's just another way, they'll remember "the house with the water" and more details about it. You'd be amazed how much candy I go through, leaving a bowl of individual chocolate candies in a home. 
however, I've never seen anyone frowning on the smell of baked cookies as opposed to a dirty/urine smelly home
