Smoking Lowers Property Values

As a home stager, it's my difficult job to discuss with home sellers how the smell of their home can be detrimental to it's saleability - and it's price. That includes the smell of tobacco smoke. But, after doing a bit of research, I realize that the lingering odour of tobacco smoke is an increasingly serious buyer concern, especially for young families.

As of 2008, only 16% of Ontario residents over 25 were smokers. Who is going to buy a house here in Kingston? Odds are they will be over 25 and will live in Ontario. Believe me non-smokers' noses pick up that whiff of tobacco a lot faster than smokers. If you don't want to put off more than 4 out of 5 potential buyers when you put your home on the market, you'd better resolve this issue.

Ridding your home of the smell completely is not an easy task. It sticks to and soaks into every surface. It can seem to be gone but heat and humidity will cause it to release again. If you've been in the habit of smoking in your bathroom, the new owner will know it as soon as he goes in for a hot shower. There are some things you can do but you have your work cut out for you.

What makes this issue even more serious than a mere smell turnoff is the fact that we now have many studies showing our health can be seriously harmed by smoking and by breathing in second hand smoke. The most recent news is that we can also be harmed by breathing or touching the smoke residue called "third hand smoke."

Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to describe these chemicals in a study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in the January, 2009 issue of journal Pediatrics.

In February, 2010, a study sponsored by the University of California's Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program was released. Lara Gundel, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California and one of the authors of the study, says of the findings:

"We have considered that nicotine on surfaces has been pretty benign up to this point. It turns out we shouldn't say that now. People can be exposed to toxins in tobacco smoke in a way that's never been recognized before." "The burning of tobacco releases nicotine in the form of a vapor that adsorbs strongly onto indoor surfaces, such as walls, floors, carpeting, drapes and furniture. Nicotine can persist on those materials for days, weeks and even months," said Hugo Destaillats, a chemist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in San Francisco, co-author of the study.

"Our study shows that when this residual nicotine reacts with ambient nitrous acid it forms carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines or TSNAs," Destaillats said. "TSNAs are among the most broadly acting and potent carcinogens present in unburned tobacco and tobacco smoke."

This is pretty scary stuff. Furthermore, these studies indicate that infants and children are the most susceptible group to these cancer causing chemicals. Now it becomes not only a comfort issue for home buyers, but a true health and safety issue. For young family homebuyers, providing a safe home for their children is a huge priority. Their concern will make them pass completely on the smokey home or, at the least, lower their offer substantially to cover the cost of dealing with the stubborn residue.

If you re-publish please credit Martha Stanton-Smith, Rearrangements home staging.