Real estate agents claim that the valuation of a property can be boosted if it contains any one of these amenities, also known as extras or optional niceties for your home:
- Swimming Pool
- View
- Landscaped Grounds
- Sunroom
- Porch, fancy driveway, patio
- Fireplace (in California, this is an extra, not a necessity)
and so on.
That’s fine, but everybody has their preferences and beyond the standard set of rooms and the desire for a decent amount of space, our taste in the extras can vary widely. In my case, I’d be a home buyer who’d pass on a listed house that had something on their premises that can be terribly fun, but can actually be a bear to own. What I mean to say is that I’d skip on a house with a swimming pool on it.
If you ask me, these are the types of pools I prefer, because they are innocuous… and affordable!
I’d prefer the pool that someone else owns.
Or the inflatable kind that you could put away after use.
Or how about having the illusion of one instead.
Not that I am totally against swimming pools. It’s just that as a homeowner, I look upon them more as liabilities rather than as assets, and a drain on the budget.
And here’s why I say that. These are just my opinions of course.
Why I’d Pass On Swimming Pools
They use up limited outdoor space.
How many times have I attended home parties held in someone’s yard where a large-sized pool took over most of the real estate? Too often. And not all of us are fond of swimming either. I’m a decent swimmer but haven’t been up to donning a swimsuit of late. When you have young kids like we do, I’d prefer a lawn where we can run around freely or hold children’s parties with ease. Not only that, as our residential communities grow denser, there is less property to actually live in. Would you sacrifice your limited usable space for a pool? I wouldn’t.
They cost a lot of effort and money to maintain.
If you’re interested in installing a pool, it’s around $40,000. If you already have one in place, you’ll need to maintain it either by hiring a pool guy or doing it yourself. If you don’t do a good job, you’ll have a very murky, icky pool that breeds unwanted critters like mosquitoes and tadpoles. In the Bay Area, hiring someone else to do the work costs $400 - $500 a month on average — that’s $6,000 a year you could’ve invested towards your kids’ tuition instead!
They are an *almost* permanent fixture on your property.
It takes a LOT to change your landscape in case you ever desire to fill in an existing pool. As I’ve mentioned, a pool’s upkeep is expensive, requiring fuel, energy, chemicals, cleaners, time and effort to do, and those costs can only go higher with time. It’s hard to put a price on your house being the popular magnet for kids in the neighborhood, but eventually these kids move out and you’ll have to share your empty nest with a potentially empty, dry hole in your yard. What next? You’ll either sell the home, fill in that pool, keep maintaining it at a cost or live with the makeshift pond it turns into.
They are a liability.
It can happen to anyone. Even fenced pools can be outmanned by a clever toddler, much to their misfortune. I’d prefer not to own a liability. It’s as simple as that.
If you have little kids you have to be extra careful.
I know lots of people who began giving their kids swimming lessons at an early age, to heck with ear infections and all that. The kids have become splendid swimmers by the age of 10. Still, I believe this is an exception. If you have talented swimmers in your family, owning a pool may have some benefits but I doubt this’ll be the case with my own family.
They can lower your property value.
Aha, this can be a controversial point. I just said earlier how amenities — including pools — have helped raise the value of homes. But in reality, it all depends on the property market. I’ve read some articles stating that people are beginning to dislike the idea of owning a pool, for the same precise reasons that I do. When there’s enough of us to think the same way, VOILA! Prices of such homes may decrease accordingly. Note however, that in certain parts of the nation, pools are a must. Homes in desert states often have pools as a necessity, but this wouldn’t be the situation in colder regions. So it could be locale driven. Here’s an interesting fact from my local paper’s realty pages:
A realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors advises his home-buying clients to look for properties with pools because they offer such a big discount. “If you’re selling your house, consider filling in your pool. It costs between $10,000 to $15,000, but doing so would add a minimum of $100,000 in value to your home (upon sale). That is because 90% of all buyers strongly do not want a pool.”
With all things equal, home shoppers will eliminate that house with a pool from their shortened buy list. The interesting note here is that the opposite is true with high-end mansions. The richer folk tend to *want* big pools since they don’t have the space limitation that everyone else has. But that’s a special market altogether.
They can be pretty redundant - other places can be alternatives to the pool!
Instead of owning the pool yourself, you should find alternatives to having one sitting permanently on your lot. How about visiting a friend or relative who already owns one? Community pools are accessible in many places such as apartment complexes, clubs, health centers or gym settings. If I really need to get soaked on a regular basis, I’d get a temporary membership to an athletic club or the YMCA. On a personal note, we just stick to our trusty inflatables when the hot summer months hit — those cheap backyard water toys do the job for my kids and their buddies!
Final Word
In the end, I’d save money by sidestepping a house with a pool, like the time when we put an offer on a house that had a huge fenced water pit that took over the entire yard which fortunately enough, we failed to snag. Just our luck, our bid wasn’t accepted as the house took in multiple offers; since then I look upon that day as fortuitous. Now with all that money I save from NOT having a pool, I think I’ll just apply it to some other cool home feature. Like more plants for the yard.
Image Credit: Kid’s Toy Chest, OpticalIllusions.com
This week, the big names in Real Estate blogging debated that installing a pool could actually lower your home’s value: http://3oceansrealestate.com/blog/add-a-pool-lower-your-homes-value.html
Each independent Realtor should know if the additions you mentioned with increase the value- often they will not, especially if it doesn’t match your neighbors.
I’ve actually NEVER seen an article that claimed a pool will add value to your home - always the contrary - but perhaps that’s because I’m in Toronto. I take all those claims with a very large pinch of salt anyway, and hope most other homeowners do too.
Guinness, I must’ve been under the wrong impression that pools were considered “a good thing” for home valuations. I could’ve sworn that I had a realtor tell me this a while ago. Again, what is notable here is that a pool may actually add value if your house is a mansion and you have amenities everywhere like gazebos, hot tubs, pools, jacuzzis, saunas and tennis courts on your property. I can’t imagine a luxury home that doesn’t sport a pool.
In other words, at a general level, pools probably lower prices for the general public (mass market for homes). For certain locations (those with very hot climates) and for the luxury market, I’m guessing pools add to home value.
Again, my own .02 from someone who isn’t in the RE industry.
Here in Los Angeles, a pool doesn’t add value, but only because so many homes have one so there’s nothing about a pool that makes the house special. But not having a pool doesn’t lower the value of a house because there are enough people who don’t care whether a house has a pool. I hope that makes sense.
SVB,
Love the illusion art. I had not seen the one with the pool.
I agree with you. For me, a pool is similar to a boat. “What’s better than owning a boat? A good friend that owns a boat :-)”
Hehe, sometimes the illusion of something is actually better than the real thing!
Another interesting story for you: my in-laws have a house built on what is practically a cliff. In the 1990’s, they were bitten by the remodeling bug and redid their house altogether. They fancied a pool on their *very* limited landscape given the steepness of their property slope. I thought it was downright impossible to pull something like this off. Yet they built an absolutely lovely natural rock garden type pool for those occasional California heat waves.
They do their own pool maintenance (though I don’t know how they do it since they are *extremely* frugal), and they use the pool maybe twice a month during the summer months. Do I question the pool’s practicality? Objectively speaking, yes. But in reality, that pool is great because now they have grandkids who can enjoy it and that’s where we go for a dip.
If I put on my business hat, I’d question its resale value. But as a member of the family, I don’t see it that way at all — I can only appreciate the nice memories my kids are having when they visit their grandparents (and the fact I don’t have to maintain that pool myself)!
[…] The Digerati Life asks the question of whether home valuation deserves to increase if you install a pool. […]
Interesting article. I always thought most people liked pools- I think they’re an eyesore… especially those of the above ground variety that I’ve seen at many houses. Yikes.
[…] Digerati Life asks: Should your home’s valuation deserve to appreciate if you install a pool? - I have wondered the same thing since we are thinking about putting in a pool next year. At […]
A pool in my house? Never. Fitness club membership works perfect for us.
On the other hand my kids did enjoy a pool at my wife’s parents home when we visited Ukraine. It was an inflated kind though.
Where did you get that image of illusion? I wonder how they did it…
I LOVE my pool at my house! It’s the best free entertainment and peace-inducing activity around! Plus no travel costs or hassle - just walk outside.
Of course, my landlord pays for the upkeep, and I just get to enjoy it. I live in LA and so can enjoy it year-round - I swim during the warmer months, and I float around on my raft in the sunshine all year.
If you rent out your house, or rooms in your house, like my landlord does, a pool is DEFINITELY an asset for attracting renters. But, you won’t be able to charge more for it since, like Chief Family Officer says, there are just so many homes with pools available here.
Most people would love to have a pool, but the practicality and expense usually detract rather than add to the value and the available buyers. For those that want a pool, it is a great value-add. For those who don’t, it is a deal killer.
-4MySales
Well I think pools suit certain demographics better than others. I think the least suitable demographic for genuine built-in pools are families with very young kids. Pretty much anyone else can probably appreciate pools much more than those of us with curious toddlers who love roaming around the yard, leaving no stones unturned. Keep a laser eye on your kids when there’s water around!
Like mansions, pools are required items for apartment complex developers to install. I listed to a couple head honchos from Avalon Bay apartment group speak last year. They bristled at the cost and the wasted land that the pools they put in eat up. What further frustrated them was the fact that these pools never get used. But a prospective tenant touring one of their properties, will not rent a place if it doesnt have a sparkling pool. BTW, if anyone has a nice pool that they don’t want, I have a backyard perfect for it.
[…] Valley Blogger presents Should Your Home Valuation Deserve To Appreciate If You Install A Pool?» Money and Personal Fi… posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Let’s talk about swimming pools for a […]
yup… home pools are a quite temporary & expensive amusement– much like owning pleasure boats.
The novelty and enjoyment quickly vanish within 1-2 years. But at least you can sell a boat (..or store it out of sight).
One residential pool-builder estimates that standard in-ground pools ultimately cost the homeowner $100-per-swim… over the life-cycle cost of pool construction & maintenance.
Go to a hotel with a nice pool for the weekend when you get the infrequent urge for a swim — it will be much cheaper overall.
This is one real estate agent that would never suggest adding a pool to increase value in the Denver market. Why? Because pools here add no value at all.
Many folks with kids will shun a home with pool. They are afraid of the “attractive nuisance” implications for themselves and liabilities for others’ kids. So, even though some will find the pool to be attactive, they won’t have to pay a single dime higher to get the same home with a pool.
[…] Should Your Home Valuation Deserve To Appreciate If You Install A Pool? Silicon Valley Blogger writes an entertaining article about adding a swimming pool to your property. Is it really worth it? […]
As a real estate agent, I never encourage a buyer, who WANTS a pool home, to purchase a home which requires them to build a pool. There is no return on this addition. In Florida, many families want a pool and they do add value. But they do not add enough value to merit building one from scratch. The owner will never see a return on the investment when the home is sold. However, landscaping almost always brings a greater return in value. You can’t beat a tree and you don’t have to spend a ton of money to maintain it!