Candles or cookies for an open house?

The agents that I know that hold the most successful Open Houses dont bake cookies or have candles. Its all a distraction. Their are a variety of people that go to open houses to include, neighbors to see what other homes look like the area, agents, some unqualified buyers and some legit buyers. The whole idea is to communicate effectively with any prospects to solidify interest level and if they are someone that is able to purchase a home. Focus purely on asking good questions and engaging with people.

Faye, I am not a big fan of lighting candles or baking cookies. First, people attending and even the agent hosting the open house may be sensitive to certain smells. If you have a pet in the home, then suggest that you air it out before the open, run the house fan on circulating/continuous, and thoroughly clean the home (I love the smell of a fresh clean home!). There are products out there that are odorless (minimal) that can remove some of the odors still lingering. Potential buyers may think that there is something wrong in the home that it is being masked by candles, etc.

If the home has a odor the best thing you can do is open it up prior to the open house to air it out. Bringing an air freshener (Lemongrass) would be ok but not needed. I would not use open flames nor bake cookies. The idea is to have them envision themselves in the home, not a cookie. You could tape your business card to a bag of microwave popcorn or use mailing labels to create a sticker that says "Thanks for popping by" Creative marketing.

We have had good luck with lighting a candle that is the sugar cookie scent. It tends to make people feel like home.