Smoking in the House Reduces Home Value

If you are a smoker, chances are you might end up significantly reducing the value of your property. I was glancing through a survey report by Pfizer Canada which revealed that smoking inside residential premises can shrink the resale price of homes by up to 29%. Pfizer Canada is a pharmaceutical organization whose products encourage users to quit smoking. The survey commenced on 31^st January and concluded on 6^th February.

Astonishing facts from the study:

• As many as 401 participants in the survey who were real estate agents acknowledged that it is tougher to sell house whose inhabitants were smokers.
• Home owners lose up to $107,000 on a residence located in Ontario, where the average resale value of homes is presently $369,000(!)
• About 56% of the participants agreed that majority of buyers would dislike homes which have been previously occupied by smokers. Similarly, about 26% of the respondents asserted that most buyers would vehemently oppose purchasing homes belonging to smokers!
• Nearly half of the participants said that smoking inside homes adversely impacts resale valuation of properties.
• According to other respondents, smokers stain walls and carpets of homes, besides leaving a foul stench.

I am not sure if the impact of smoking on your home value is quite as drastic as this study makes it. Pharmaceuticals are well known to have a way with numbers and statistics. Nonetheless there now is (yet another) reason to quit smoking.