How much value does a pool add to your home?

In Florida, many homes have pools in the back yard. The weather here allows for residents to enjoy the water pretty much throughout the year so it is understandable why you often see pools being advertised in listings. But is it worth the extra cost of installing a pool ahead of selling a house?

Let‘s first consider the investment. Putting in a pool will run you at the very minimum around $40,000. If you consider adding water features or an oversized pool, that figure would definitely increase. Need to add a pool deck or tiling around the pool? You should budget another $8,000-$12,000 for that. If you are installing a heater to keep the water warm during the winter months, you can expect to pay over $5,500 for a heater – plus your electric bill will see a spike during those months if left on continuously.

Time is another factor that needs to be considered. Between the time you sign the contract until you can actually begin to enjoy your new pool, you could be looking at anywhere between 6 months to a year or more. You must agree on the type of pool you want, verify ordinances for location and distance minimum requirements from the property line, submit plans and apply for permits (though the pool contractor will typically handle this), secure permission from the HOA (if applicable), notify utilities companies so they can mark where any lines may be running through your proposed location, then once all of that is complete you wait until the contractor sets a start date. Depending on the type and size of the pool, the construction may take a week, two weeks or longer if you are adding a pool deck.

So once the pool is in, how much will your property value have increased? Well, a rule of thumb for realtors is to take a look at comparable houses near you that have sold recently and try to find the selling price for homes with and without pools. If the pool was the only difference between the two houses sold, it’s easy. If other factors like upgraded kitchens or bathrooms come into play, determining the value of the pool then takes more work as we need to continue evaluating homes that have been sold near the subject property to determine how much value a pool truly adds to the home.

In my personal experience when shopping for a home, my wife really wanted a pool in our backyard. It was one of the requirements we had before even considering looking at the house. In that sense, a pool most definitely benefited the seller since we were adamant about only seeing houses that had a pool already in place. My wife’s thinking was that if the house didn’t have an existing pool, we’d probably never get around to actually installing one for all the reasons I talked about before. She was probably right as she so often is.

So how much value does a pool add to your property? There is no definitive answer to this question. If you are thinking about selling your home, speak with your realtor about the details of your home in order to get an informed opinion on the value of your property. We provide complimentary CMA’s or comprehensive market analysis reports to our clients so you can see what the properties around you are selling for and have sold for recently. This analysis can help you price your home appropriately to ensure you are getting what your home is worth and aren’t leaving money on the table.