Do Homes with pools sell for More $? (Houston, Vega: rent, buying a house)

[LindaIL]

Originally Posted by testmo

if you are wanting to put in a pool, go all the way for flagstone/tile decking all the way around, patio, space for outdoor kitchen, and landscaping. that is what everyone else is doing so anything much less will pale in comparison to buyers

If an average pool is around $40 to $50K.....What would one like this cost?

[High_Plains_Retired]

I personally would never buy a residential home with a swimming pool simply because of the liability and maintenance costs. I've been there. A swimming pool will undoubtedly reduce the number of potential buyers you will have whenever you sell and, although it may not reduce your eventual selling price, it very likely will have you paying a few more mortgage payments while you wait for a buyer who wants a pool.

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by LindaIL

If an average pool is around $40 to $50K.....What would one like this cost?

It depends. Probably $75k - $100k.

We're building one right now with a waterfall/grotto/slide, a decent amount of decking and plumbing for a future outdoor kitchen. We're in the middle of that range, not including sprinkler repair and landscaping.

We've been looking at doing it for a couple of years and it certainly seems to me like pool prices are going up pretty rapidly.

[marksmu]

A pool that is well maintained will never cause the home to sell for LESS money. NEVER. Its an asset and an amenity. That said, you will not get your full cost to install a pool back from your sale. It may cause you to lose a few potential buyers who do not want pools, but that number of people who do not want pools is dwarfed by the number of people who really want one.

If you want a pool to look at b/c its beautiful, and because you and your family like to swim and play around the pool, then put a pool in for you. If you have plans to move within 5 years, I would say a pool is not a good move.

That said - Pools in neighborhoods with poor schools, or areas with less children, will not get as much back as homes with pools in areas with great schools and lots of children.

Families with children tend to want pools more than couples with no kids, and retired people. Both of those age groups tend to prefer the unrestricted lifestyle where they are not maintaining lots of things.

Also don't buy into the BS about pools being hard to maintain and being expensive...with modern pool equipment, pool cleaners, filters, variable speed pumps, high efficency heaters, etc a relatively large pool can easily be maintained with 10 minutes per week or less of work...with an hour set aside every 4th weekend to clean or backwash filters. Everything is automated and remote controlled these days with a modern pool, so the days of going back to your pool equipment to fumble around and fix things and spend hours doing it all are long gone.

[vwgto]

Originally Posted by marksmu

Also don't buy into the BS about pools being hard to maintain and being expensive...with modern pool equipment, pool cleaners, filters, variable speed pumps, high efficency heaters, etc a relatively large pool can easily be maintained with 10 minutes per week or less of work...with an hour set aside every 4th weekend to clean or backwash filters. Everything is automated and remote controlled these days with a modern pool, so the days of going back to your pool equipment to fumble around and fix things and spend hours doing it all are long gone.

I guess it has been a few years since I had a pool, but I find it hard to believe anyone is self-maintaining one (clean, no debris, chemicals balanced, ready to swim) by only investing ten minutes per week and minimal dollars. If it is consistently doable, I would assume only after a very large upfront investment.

[lhafer]

Well, I would say that if you have good house comps in a neighborhood, but one had a pool (well maintained), and the other did not - the one with the pool would cost more.

BUT, the caveat is - the owner will not get a return on their money for putting the pool in. So if they spent $50k putting it in, they will only see a fraction of return on that "asset".

It's best to find a house with a pool already in place. You pay for a fraction of the cost of having the pool put in (this would be the higher cost of the house/fraction of return on the asset from the original homeowner), and that is the same cost you could then pass on to the next buyer if/when you sell down the road. So the only money you would really be out is the cost of maintenance while you own the home.

[cheryjohns]

Houses with pools will bring more money - but never enough to come close to paying for the pool. If you have one installed, make sure you really want one - because the money spent will just have to come under the category of entertainment (like time spent in Vegas).

Consider re-sale homes with a pool instead - let that pool-installing-seller be the one to take the hit.

[Schumacher713]

I look at a pool as buying a fancy car that will depreciate quickly. You will enjoy it, but it is a poor investment. You will not see much of your money back from it. It will add zero to little value to a house. Most realtors will tell you this. I have asked some of mine before. I will say that modern pools are much easier to maintain. Especially, with the invention of salt water pools. They are not cheap to run. There is electric costs of the pumps, water that evaporates, chemicals, gas to heat it, repairs, and insurance costs. A pool service will run you an extra 100 a month. I think my buddy said his salt water pool was about 150-200 a month depending. If you think it costs less than 100 a month to run one you are wrong. I think there is an exception to a pool adding money. In more expensive houses you have people with more money that don't care much about the costs.

How Much Will a Pool Actually Cost - WSJ.com

does a pool add to the value of your home - Zillow Real Estate Advice

[ethanw]

How can you make such misleading statement when you don’t even own a pool?
This is my second pool and I am under $50 every month. There a lot of smart option you can put in a pool to save you money and it only takes me 10 minutes every weekend to maintain it.
I am consistently under $50 every month including electricity

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

A pool service will run you an extra 100 a month. I think my buddy said his salt water pool was about 150-200 a month depending. If you think it costs less than 100 a month to run one you are wrong.

[cheryjohns]

It does add value - just not enough to cover the cost of the pool.

I know a lot of people who spend $100 or less a month to maintain.