Swimming pool (Houston, Howe: sale, how much, houses)

[jamango]

Hi everyone. Can anyone give me any views on having a private pool in the Houston area. Is it expensive to maintain, and does it help or harm in resale?

[jimboburnsy]

I'm sure some realtors can give you a detailed statistical analysis of whether or not a pool helps your resale, but I think that unless a buyer is specifically looking for one a pool is a negative. A lot of (if not most) prospective buyers will see a pool as an additional expense and headache. People with young children or those who are planning a family in the near term, people with dogs who do not want to sacrifice "yardage" and people (like me) who are just lazy can shy away from pools.

[alchemist]

Hi Jim,

I don't know where you reside in the Houston area---but if you are in the X-Burbs ( such as the Woodlands) having a pool will definately cause your home to sell much faster than another home of comparable value.....all else considered equal.......................

But you may not recoup the full value of the pool---for example---most friends with homes in the 200-400K range spent about 30-40K on their pools---and these are not fancy "Disney Land" pools........they have gotten about 25K back in their final sale price ( take that for what it's worth---some feel that's a decent return---some don't)

I don't really see it being that way in the Houston proper "hoods"---folks seem to take or leave the pool there---although I did go thru some open houses in the Parkway Villages area a few weeks back---and some of the replies about the homes were: "Nice home---but we really wanted a pool" sort of thing---so go figure

[Jamesww]

Having a pool will not harm resale value and can make the home sell faster than without a pool. However, you will be lucky to get back even 50% of the cost of putting in a pool unless it is the norm for the neighborhood in which case you will get less for your home for not having the pool.

[Supermac34]

I think the price of your pool compared to the price of your house makes a big difference in how much you get back. You will not get back very much on a $50,000 pool on a $200,000 house. Its 25% of the value of the house. I think you CAN get back more frmo a pool if you put a nice $35-40,000 pool on a more expensive home, maybe $500,000+. If they pool is less than 10% of the value of the home, then perhaps you can recoup most of the cost AND it should help sell your house faster.