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Answers (6)
- Jim Ventura, "rktekt99"
- Contributions:32
I disagree with Titan, and agree with Andrew, as a general statement. In neighborhoods where most of the homes have a pool, then yours should also to compete. In areas where there aren't as many, its not as important. In my 15 years it seems I've had just as many buyers say "no pool please" as to have them require a pool. The value is what it is - its all about salability.
Here's the real discussion though... how do your outdoor spaces add to the complexity in design of the overall layout of the home? How does your interior relate to the exterior? Are you creating outdoor rooms where you are expanding the usefulness of interior rooms? Outdoor fireplaces / fire pits? Outdoor media centers? Lots of fun things to do with those spaces if you've got some extra room, including water elements, like a pool / spa. THEN you will add real value! Suggest you consider a designer or architect to look over your options. Check my website for more info.
Here's the real discussion though... how do your outdoor spaces add to the complexity in design of the overall layout of the home? How does your interior relate to the exterior? Are you creating outdoor rooms where you are expanding the usefulness of interior rooms? Outdoor fireplaces / fire pits? Outdoor media centers? Lots of fun things to do with those spaces if you've got some extra room, including water elements, like a pool / spa. THEN you will add real value! Suggest you consider a designer or architect to look over your options. Check my website for more info.
- DanaEv
- Contributions:62
It truly depends on what part of the country you live in. If it's in the South, Southwest or Southeast, you are probably improving the houses value.
We live in the Northeast, and when we told our realtors we wanted a pool, they said that it narrowed down our search significantly since many people here don't want one. It's not warm for many months, and has to have a good solid cover that will keep the pool from freezing in the winter. We bought a house where the pool has a heater, and it's a huge asset to us. We don't intend to ever move again, so selling isn't something we are worried about at the moment, but if you put in a pool in a cold part of the country, put a heater in so the owners can swim for a longer period of time. Our pool is open from May til October. One problem with heaters is that they can make your electric/gas bill go through the roof. If we want to swim in the afternoon, we'll turn the heater on in the morning and let it run for a few hours, but we wouldn't leave it on for a few days. We did it once, over a weekend, and ended up with a $700 gas bill! But then again, this year has been a very cool summer, whereas we usually get up to the 90's and 100's by now, and we are barely getting up to 80. If we had a regular summer we wouldn't need the heater.
Sorry to get off topic. But it really does depend on where you live. If you're in a hot part of the country, buyers may appreciate the ability to cool off, as I've watched my brother in law take a dive in his pool in the South after mowing his yard, just to cool off.
I'm hoping for a hot summer next year.
One other thing - remember that upkeep on a pool is not cheap. Keeping the chemicals balanced, knowing what the pH should be, the Chlorine, etc. is vital to having a healthly pool, and can be scary to someone who has never owned a pool. The chemicals are expensive also. That could scare off buyers (btw, a pH of 7.6 should prevent red eyes and itching skin). Also, don't go cheap and get a pool with a liner. The newer pools don't leak, and you have no worries of having to drain the pool to fix a leak in the liner, which my sister had to do twice.
We have a pool company come out twice a month to keep an eye on the pool and make sure everything is okay, because of all the equipment it has, and cleaning it and cleaning the filters everyday is essential as leaves and dirt can stain your pool permanently. So, yeah, time, money and upkeep are big, but worth it if you love to swim or live where it's warm for most of the year.
We live in the Northeast, and when we told our realtors we wanted a pool, they said that it narrowed down our search significantly since many people here don't want one. It's not warm for many months, and has to have a good solid cover that will keep the pool from freezing in the winter. We bought a house where the pool has a heater, and it's a huge asset to us. We don't intend to ever move again, so selling isn't something we are worried about at the moment, but if you put in a pool in a cold part of the country, put a heater in so the owners can swim for a longer period of time. Our pool is open from May til October. One problem with heaters is that they can make your electric/gas bill go through the roof. If we want to swim in the afternoon, we'll turn the heater on in the morning and let it run for a few hours, but we wouldn't leave it on for a few days. We did it once, over a weekend, and ended up with a $700 gas bill! But then again, this year has been a very cool summer, whereas we usually get up to the 90's and 100's by now, and we are barely getting up to 80. If we had a regular summer we wouldn't need the heater.
Sorry to get off topic. But it really does depend on where you live. If you're in a hot part of the country, buyers may appreciate the ability to cool off, as I've watched my brother in law take a dive in his pool in the South after mowing his yard, just to cool off.
I'm hoping for a hot summer next year.
One other thing - remember that upkeep on a pool is not cheap. Keeping the chemicals balanced, knowing what the pH should be, the Chlorine, etc. is vital to having a healthly pool, and can be scary to someone who has never owned a pool. The chemicals are expensive also. That could scare off buyers (btw, a pH of 7.6 should prevent red eyes and itching skin). Also, don't go cheap and get a pool with a liner. The newer pools don't leak, and you have no worries of having to drain the pool to fix a leak in the liner, which my sister had to do twice.
We have a pool company come out twice a month to keep an eye on the pool and make sure everything is okay, because of all the equipment it has, and cleaning it and cleaning the filters everyday is essential as leaves and dirt can stain your pool permanently. So, yeah, time, money and upkeep are big, but worth it if you love to swim or live where it's warm for most of the year.
- titan10
- Contributions:826
Andrew's general statement is not necessarily correct. In many parts of socal, ive seen houses with pools sell for 50k more than the model match next to it in similar condition. It depends on the class of neighborhood. If your buyer cant pay more for the pool, they wont. If they want a pool, many buyers arent interested in building it themselves, as it requres cash or an equity loan, which without the cash, there is no equity in a home just purchased. Also, if you go with a simple pool, you can get one as low as 15k in socal built for you. 40-50k for a pool is only when you go nuts.If you have a high end pool that cost you 100k in the coldest region of the country, it would likely lose value. If you have a 20k pool in an area where they are common and desired, like socal, it can often add 30k to your bottom line(although an appraiser probabaly wont give you what you pay for it, as his job is to be conservative). Many people will pay more for a house with it done already, as they dont like construction, or dont have the cash, and want to finance it in the house.
- Andrew Walter, "RealEstateByAndrew"
- Contributions:17
In most areas of Southern CA, you are only going to increase your property by about $10,000-$20,000 by putting in a pool. Most pools now cost $40,000-$50,000 or more. You would probably do better to sell your house and buy one with a pool.
- ggonangel
- Contributions:5
Yea. But in Florida pools are a big perk.
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26854
Not much, even in Dublin . I would only install a pool/spa if you want it for your own enjoyment. If you are thinking re-sale value, the return on the investment is going to be only a small percentage of what you spent. In some communities in the Bay Area, a pool is a negative and removes a large portion of the buying population from considering your home. (In our case, a potential buyer requested $50k for removal of the pool after closing - we had a better buyer thank goodness). We would never buy a home with a pool again.
how much value is added if you remodel the backyard and add in ground pool and spa
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