Do pools impact my home value?

This is a question we often receive moving closer into the summer.  However, today, March 12, it is snowing and as we work and watch the cold snow fall, ironically, we found ourselves thinking about the warm sun and the cool water of a pool.

The answer is that it all depends...but you should think of it, not necessarily as an investment but more of an enjoyment.  We have lived in two different homes with pools--both have been in-ground pools.  Our first pool was already there when we bought it.  It was a nice pool, well maintained but was daily maintenance when opened and had a lot of wood decking. That wasn't bad, but it wasn't optimal either.  As well, the pump was very close to where the lounge chairs were so when the pump was running which was most of the time in the summer, there was always noise.  We added additional landscaping to improve the aesthetics of our pool area and that made it much more enjoyable.  We did not have a problem selling the house with the pool and we did not see any sort of premium or negative.

When we moved into our current home, it did not have a pool.  Given the fact we are on acreage decided to build a concrete, salt-water pool.  We love it, as were able to design it as we wanted to.  It is relatively low maintenance even though we leave it open all year long.  However, several years later there are some things we would have done differently.  For example, we probably would have added more concrete pool decking would have added bench seating in the pool. Other considerations would have been to make it deeper and a darker colored bottom.  Several times per year we wish we would have made it a little bigger in general as our friends spill out of it.  Because we do not live in a neighborhood with a neighborhood club or amenities and because our home sits in the middle of acreage we think the pool will be seen as a positive when it is time to sell and we personally believe it adds to the marketability of the property.

The other thing we learned is that you can do anything you want with a pool, especially a concrete pool.  Get creative and have fun with it.  After all, that's what summers is for!  

If you are considering putting a pool in or buying a house with a pool, maybe ask yourself, do I see this as an investment or enjoyment?  Take a look a the pools below and daydream on this snowy day!

If you have specific questions about pools feel free to reach out.