How a Pool Adds Value to Your Home
Nothing beats having a crystal-clear pool in your own backyard during the hot summer months. As a wise homeowner, however, you may want to look past the entertainment value of a pool and look at it as an upscale amenity that can boost your home’s value.
In this article, you will discover how a pool can actually add value to your home.
Adding a pool to your home makes your home’s value go up, especially if the pool is nicely designed and comes with amenities such as adjacent decks and patios. Real estate experts estimate that a pool can potentially increase the real estate value of your home by 5 to 8 percent. In warmer states like Florida or Arizona, potential buyers will see the pool as an attractive feature.
Keep reading to discover how much value a pool adds to your home.
Does a swimming pool make your home desirable?
When you hear the word “swimming pool,” you probably think about “summer,” “relaxation,” and “fun.” You remember all the cool and refreshing dips you usually take during the summer days and the pool parties you host for your family and friends. In short, you associate pools with many positive things.
A pool is a great addition to your backyard. Not only does it provide entertainment value, but it also improves your quality of life. Whether a pool adds value to a home or not, having your own backyard oasis to melt away into is already an incentive in itself. Its benefits extend well beyond the obvious conveniences it provides.
A pool opens the door to a lifestyle that boosts your health and gives you more time for living. It allows you to spend more quality time with your family and friends, more time to exercise, and more time to physically and mentally cool down.
While the desirability of a home with a pool on the real estate market highly depends on the buyer, most buyers prefer a swimming pool on their wish lists. In fact, other buyers automatically rule out homes that don’t have a swimming pool, especially in warm states like Florida.
Since Florida has a tropical climate, homebuyers in the area prefer pool homes. Being a warm state, swimming pools are more prevalent and desirable in Florida than in colder states, where pools are only used for a few months a year.
How much does it cost to build a pool?
While you can’t put a price tag on the enjoyment that a pool provides, you can put a price tag on how much a pool costs to build. It is important to consider not only the returns of investing in a pool but the cost of building one as well.
In the U.S., the average cost to install, equip and fill a 600-sq.ft. concrete pool is at least $30,000. If you add in details like safety fences, lighting, landscaping, waterfalls, and a spa, you may even spend up to $100,000. But don’t let these figures faze you. Keep in mind that as you invest more money in the features of your pool, the more it will make your home stand out from the rest. This is especially true if your home is located in a community where pool homes are common.
The cost also depends on the type of pool you choose for your yard. The most popular in-ground pool nowadays is gunite, which is a mixture of sand and cement and can be poured into almost any shape. Gunits has recently replaced concrete as the sought-after standard for building in-ground pools.
Fiberglass pools and those with vinyl liners usually fall on the lower end of the budget scale, although the liners usually need to be replaced every decade or so. To change the liners, you need to drain the pool and replace the edging, so costs tend to add up over time.
How do you build the ideal pool?
Over time, residential swimming pools have become more popular. Thanks to technology, pools nowadays are much easier to customize, faster to clean, and simpler to maintain.
Swimming pools have both tangible and intangible benefits. Beautifully designed pools make a home stand out. They are satisfying in the sense that they are not only beautifully designed or incorporate the most up-to-date technological innovations, but they are also a fantastic place for kids to play as they grow up and for family and friends to gather. When you have a swimming pool at home, you allow your gorgeous backyard to transform your house into a home.
When it’s time to sell your home, the design of your pool will matter. Hence, it is important that you make sure the design and planning are both done correctly. This is why the majority of homeowners prefer to renovate their pools with the help of a professional. Pool experts can help find the right products and materials for their pools.
To build the ideal pool that can add value to your home, seek professional help and ensure a quality result. By working with a pool professional like Nelson Pool Company, you can be sure that your pool will have the best quality and personalized results.
Why does your location matter?
Many real estate experts consider location as a key factor in guaranteeing buyer interest in homes. This is also true for pool homes.
Places with warmer climates are nice marketplaces for pool homes. Yet, in colder states, a pool can be a costly and irksome summer season extra. If a pool enhances the quality of life than hinders it, then you are more likely to have interested buyers when your home has a pool.
A swimming pool is one of those amenities that are definitely regional. If you are living in Florida, then chances are you would love to have a pool in your home because it is a tropical state. When the time to sell your home comes, you can be assured that your pool can help with your home sale.
While a pool may not necessarily add tremendous value to your home, it can certainly add value to it and make it easier to sell. Homebuyers in Florida want pools. But, you can’t expect a pool to actually add value to your home if you live in an area that is cold and where pools are not really expected.
Pools normally help a sale when you live in a higher-end neighborhood, where your neighbors have pools, and when you live in a warm region. If you live in an area where you could swim all year, a pool significantly adds more value to your home. But, it can be a huge liability in areas where the swimming season only lasts for a few months. In other words, a pool makes more financial sense in Florida than it does in New Jersey.
When choosing a design for your pool, it is important to check that the style of your pool matches your home and surrounding property. You also have to make sure that it does not consume all your outdoor space.
You know your pool adds value to your home if it makes sense for your location and compliments your property.
Factoring in the ongoing costs
Aside from the face value of installing a swimming pool in your home, there are other costs associated with a pool. However, when you keep your pool well maintained and in tip-top shape, it will definitely add to your home’s value.
· Maintenance
Whether you are planning to build a pool in your yard or are considering buying a home with a pool, you need to know how much it’s going to cost you to maintain it. Typically, homeowners spend an average of $1,200-$1,800 to maintain a pool annually.
When you open your pool, you remove its cover, reassemble its filtration system, clean and test its water chemistry, and refill the water. This alone already costs between $150 and $300. This could get even higher if your pool is not well-maintained and requires extra chemicals and labor to be cleaned.
Monthly maintenance of a pool costs anywhere between $80 and $150 a month, depending on the services you are going to require. Minimum maintenance includes testing the pH level of the water, checking the pool’s filters, settings, and equipment. The upper end, on the other hand, includes services such as brushing down the surface, vacuuming, skimming, and emptying the baskets and traps.
If you choose to maintain your in-ground pool yourself, you will spend at least an hour every week doing so. You will also need the following:
- Chlorine for neutralizing harmful bacteria ($60 to $70 per 25 pounds)
- Muriatic acid for lowering pH levels ($8 per gallon)
- Soda ash for preventing excess acid ($8 per 6 pounds)
- Test kit for gauging pH levels ($15)
- Replacement test kit solutions ($15)
- Pool skimmer ($7)
- Vacuum for picking up items not picked up by the skimmer ($20 to $600)
- Replacement filter cartridge ($7 to $75)
- Replacement filter sands ($12)
- Diatomaceous earth ($20 per 25 pounds)
- Pool cover $600
- Chlorine ($55 to $120)
· Filtration and Heating Costs
The filtration pump is often the biggest energy hog in a pool system. That is why as a pool owner, you will certainly want to get the most efficient pump possible for your pool. Today, there are new variable-speed pumps available in the market. These pumps use up to 80% less energy than old single-speed pumps and cut operating expenses significantly.
These variable-speed pumps cost around $500 or more, but there are some local utilities that offer rebates through participating pool dealers. To cut energy costs further, you can set the pump to run only at non-peak hours, when rates for electricity are much lower.
If you plan to heat your pool and want the least expensive option, you can purchase and install gas heaters. However, this option has the highest operation and maintenance costs. Because of this, some pool owners opt instead for electric heat pumps that extract heat from the surrounding air and transfer it to the water. These heat pumps take longer than gas heaters to warm pools, but they are more energy-efficient and cost less to operate per swimming season.
Regardless of the heating system you use for your pool, using a solar blanket to cover it to trap heat and reduce evaporation will help reduce your operating costs.
· Upkeep Costs
As a pool owner, it is important that you make sure that your pool water is balanced for proper pH, alkalinity, and calcium levels. You also need sanitizing to control bacteria and germs, which is why you need chlorine.
Nowadays, you have several options for balancing your pool water’s pH. These options include using bromine, salt, ionizers, ozone, and other chemical compounds that are less irritating to the skin. Chlorine is still the most popular option when it comes to this because of the reasonable upfront costs associated with it. Also, using chlorine does not require you to be very rigid about checking the levels on a set schedule.
In a tropical place like Florida, the cost for upkeep may be around $15 to $25 per week. In places with seasonal swimming climate, however, the budget for the annual maintenance is about $600, including the chemical balancing and cleaning.
· Insurance Costs
Your basic homeowners’ insurance policy is likely to cover your pool without requiring a separate rider. However, it’s more advisable for you to increase your liability from the standard amount. For as little as $30 a year, you can increase the coverage from $100,000 to $500,000. Your underwriter may also require you to fence in your pool so if you have children, they can’t wander in unsupervised.
In certain areas, adding a pool to your home may increase your annual property taxes, but it won’t add to your property’s selling price. Considering that, it’s advisable to keep your total building cost between 10% and 15% of what you paid for your house, lest you invest too much in a pool that will not pay you back.
Will your pool make it easier to sell your home?
Unless you plan to live in your current home for at least a decade, you may want to know how your pool will actually affect your home sale in the future. In Florida, selling a home is easier with a pool, as long as your pool property fits the following criteria:
· Your pool style fits with your neighborhood
· You stay up-to-date on the maintenance of your pool
· Your pool isn’t very old and has been updated within the past five years
In states where the summers are long and hot, pools are not only popular. They are practically a necessity. So, if most of your neighbors have pools, then not having a pool in your yard might make your home harder to sell.
In Florida where the climate is hot, pools are such a familiar sight. As a homeowner, you want to see the best return on your investment by not just building a pool by itself, but by considering how to incorporate the pool and make the most of your entire outdoor living space, including features and details that make your backyard enjoyable all year.
Does adding a pool to your home makes financial sense?
If you want to add a pool to your home, you probably get an inkling that its cost might be a bit more than you thought. You might even be wondering if realizing this dream will eventually cause you to end up drowning in regrets.
Actually, it depends on your expectations. Just like in most huge investments like buying a car, once it’s yours, it will be impossible to get the full cost back.
So, when does adding a pool to your home make financial sense? Consider the following:
· If your home is located in a higher-end neighborhood and most of your neighbors have pools. If you live in such a neighborhood, not having a pool will make your home harder to sell.
· If you live in a warm climate like Florida.
· If your lot is spacious enough to accommodate a pool and still have some space left for gardening.
· How fit the style of the pool is to the neighborhood
· How well-maintained the pool is
· The age of the pool
· The kind of buyer. Usually, couples with very young children shy away from pool homes due to safety issues, while older, childless couples prefer them.
According to research, one of the major factors to consider when building a pool is how to make sure the rest of your outdoor living space is equally enjoyable. If your pool is built in the right neighborhood, you live in a warm state, and your lot is big enough to accommodate your pool, then your pool is more than just a great way to make your outdoor living space usable and enjoyable.
Research shows that when you meet all the criteria above, your in-ground pool may return up to 50% of its original cost when it’s time to sell your home. Appraisers say that a pool usually adds between 10 and 30% to the home’s resale value during a home sale.
Depending on the region you’re in, studies have also found that pools are a great way to see an increase in home value. In the southeast and western parts of the U.S. like Florida, pools boost home values by up to 7.5%.
How do you sell your home with a pool?
If you want to successfully sell your pool home, you need great marketing. It helps having some amazing staged visuals when marketing your home and throwing an open house that highlights your gorgeous outdoor space. When you know how to market your pool home, prospective homebuyers will see your pool as a great amenity and will likely buy your home.
Here are some tips for selling your pool home in Florida:
· Make it look nice
For buyers to see your pool as a great amenity, don’t just stage your pool space. Instead, fix up the surrounding landscaping and give the entire space a thorough scrub-down before taking pictures. That way, your pool will look nice when you present it online.
When advertising your property, focus on the experience that the pool provides rather than the pool itself. If you plan to go the extra mile, you may also hire a professional to do some drone work so buyers can get a sense of the curb appeal that your pool brings to your home.
· Make sure the timing is right
One crucial aspect of selling a pool home is timing. Before you sell your home, make sure that your pool is open and fully functional. It also helps selling it when the weather is nice.
Summing it up
A well-maintained, nicely designed pool with great amenities, can increase your home's value. However, if your pool is in need of repair and isn’t that attractive, then don’t expect it to add a positive value to your property.
Want a pool that adds value to your Florida home? Work with an experienced pool company in Florida. Call us, Nelson Pool Company, at 941-256-4079 today and we will help you achieve your desired pool for your home!
Comments
Post a Comment