If you are a cigarette smoker, could it end up costing you money down the road when you put your house on the market? Maybe if there are lingering odors and smoking residue that could affect your resale value.

In her Chicago Tribune column today, Mary Umberger takes a look at a recent Canadian study of real estate agents who said that smoking in a home can make it harder to sell and reduce its overall value. Nearly half (44%) of those surveyed said smoking will impact values by some degree. Another potential factor is the idea of “thirdhand smoke,” residue that continues to linger in the home.

Read Umberger’s column, “Smoking can affect a home’s resale value,” for more details.

REALTORS®, what do you think? Do you see home values affected when a seller is a smoker?