Are homes with pools worth more in the Triangle area? (insurance, houses)

[TarHeelNick]

Originally Posted by cheapdad00

I grew up with an above ground pool from age 5 to 11. It was well done with a huge deck between house and pool. About the time it needed some repairs, my parents decided to get rid of it, partly because dad was not handy and hated maintaining it but also because it was easy to get dumped on by other kids coming over because your house had the pool. That meant mom was a constant babysitter of neighbor children in the summer. To me, that would be the number one reason to NOT have one. Couple that with nearly every subdivision having a nice community pool and the one in the backyard is really overkill.

A bigger question is why does it seem the community pool is no longer desired by children once they are old enough to go to the community pool by themselves (usually 12 or 13 depending upon the neighborhood).

What the what?!?! Dang gen z kids and their fortnite addiction!

[Jkgourmet]

Can we talk liability next? No thanks!

[barleygirl]

I am building in Chapel Hill and putting in a pool. We have the last lot in our small neighborhood and there are quite a few homes with pools. I can't wait to swim this summer!

[ucctgg]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

we live in a HOA community of 124 ranch style homes, all built after 2008. NOT age restricted. Virtually all residents are over 50, and about 75% are fully retired. If there's a person under 25 years old, it's somebody's son or daughter or grandkid.

Square footage of our corner lot is .3 of an acre (pie shaped) which is the LARGEST lot in the subdivision. The rest are smaller and many of the backyards face each other with trees along the property line.

I'm shocked but We actually have 2 that have installed pools - Endless Pools. One in the ground, one On an extra-supported deck. Many gathered like a neighborhood block party when one of them lifted the pool via a crane over their house. Both of these homes face the woods and have fairly private backyards.

Never in a million years will these people get back the money those pools cost them (let alone the new super-supported deck). And I'm confident they will have considerably bigger problems selling those homes - the outdoor space is 90% pool, which most buyers will find unappealing.

At that age, they might not be thinking about ever reselling.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by ucctgg

At that age, they might not be thinking about ever reselling.

You're right. Next stop for me is Assisted living or the crematorium.


But they're VERY wound up about the real estate re-assessments!

[Poggly Woggly]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

You're right. Next stop for me is Assisted living or the crematorium.

Tell me about it

[Bpobill]

Originally Posted by underPSI

I'm no real estate professional but in my opinion a pool is only valuable to a buyer who's wanting a pool. Anyone else and the pool is a turn-off. Overall, I would say a pool actually depreciates the value of a home.

Not correct. Pools can add value. Depends on the home, neighborhood, and pool. You will never recoup the money for a pool but it doesn't necessarily decrease the value in every case. It's beneficial in a lot of the luxury market and even in lesser price points. I think people forget there's a lot of relo here and may people moving here want a pool. It's not hard to find pool people.

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

I'd say a pool is detrimental, but I'm old and have no kids. Being able to swim 3 months out of the year doesn't justify the cost and maintenance, IMO.



When we lived in Phoenix, the VAST majority of homes over $300K had a pool. The accepted fact is that it would cost you $35-75K to put it in, and you got $10K on your sales price when you sold the house, documented by appraisals.

Swim 3 months? I swim in mine from May-October without a heater and I do not go in cold water. 80+ degrees at least. 5.5-6 months of swimming without a heater and 7-7.5 with a heated pool here.


To answer the OP "It depends".

To those who say pools are too much maintenance they are not bad if you have a salt system. My water required zero additives the last two years besides a little more salt when I had to drain a little and add more water. I'm not a lazy person and don't mind keeping up with a pool at all. It's awesome to have during the summer. If you are lazy then a pool is not for you.

[ncdust]

I think I'd love a salt system pool that was in a unheated screened room, under roof, with solar water heaters for the pool water. Open air pools under full sun can get mighty toasty around here.

[BoBromhal]

Originally Posted by meanieme

Obviously it depends on where you are in your life.
If you're single or elderly, then you wouldn't be in the market for a pool as you'd have to maintain it and only enjoy yourself.
If you have a family with kids, then a pool is great, better than any backyard equipment.

I grew up with a pool, I have a pool now, and the next house I'd still want a pool.
Nothing beats relaxing in your own pool after a long day. Relatives and friends love to come over and enjoy our pool as well.
We have a nice neighborhood pool too but we hate going there.
Have to pack and drive there, too crowded, no privacy, deal with unruly kids and teenagers, too many rules, too many closures, unknown bacteria in the pool.

Of course it adds value. I've seen homes with pool sell faster. I've heard buyers drooling over pools. As you mentioned, even listings tout pool or "ability to build a pool". Most buyers don't want to go through trouble and time to design and build a pool, so if it's there one already built they can enjoy right way it becomes a hot selling point.

Hypothetically, let's take exact same house in exact same address with a pool for $510,000 vs without a pool for $500,000. Don't tell me because it has a pool it is worth less than $500,000 ("depreciates the value"). And don't tell me people would only pay $10,000 more for a pool because that's all it's appraised for. If the same house with pool only costs $10,000 more, I'm sure people would jump all over it.

are you in the market right now?


While to this point we haven't been told by the OP whether they have a pool and are looking to sell, or they're considering a home to buy that has a pool and wonders whether it's of some value ... one thing we do know - not only is a pool a detriment to a large % of buyers, we know that an extremely small % of buyers will value your pool anywhere near what it cost you to build it.

[Fiona8484]

I constantly browse real estate listings to get a feel for the market even though I am a homeowner.

I rarely ever see pools come up in the listings. I suspect it’s due to the fact that so many neighborhoods have a community pool.