The answer may surprise you! www.bobguest.com
For many, many years REALTORS have given the standard answer to their customers that inground pools add little value to real estate in Austin Texas. I have even heard agents reason with their clients that many families do not want pools due to safety issues with small children. They reason that a large number of buyers do not want pools, therefore the value of a home with a pool is not increased. This is interesting logic, but false! In recent years my clients have been getting huge returns of up to and even more than 100% of the pools cost. Unfortunately most REALTORS do not know the value of an in-ground pool and are still relying on old data and false perceptions! This error is perpetuated because houses with pools are statistically rare.
Here is what the National Association of REALTORs says:
They (in ground pools) do tend to add value to a home - about 7.7%, according to National Association of Realtors statistics. Regionally, in-ground pools will add about 5% to the value of a home in the Northeast part of the country, about 6% in the Midwest and 7.5% in the Southeast and West. In the Southwest, a swimming pool will add nearly 11% to the home's value!
Some instructors still believe that having an inground pool is a detriment to real estate sales today! This is absolutely FALSE!
WARNING: If you have an inground pool and you sell your house you could lose as much as $40,000 - $50,000 due to an inaccurate evaluation in todays market (Spring - Summer of 2007)! Pools in Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville and Cedar Park Texas add a considerable amount to the value of the home. This is true because of the improved technology, reduced maintenance, improved safety features and increased competition among inground pool makers. Additionally, modern pools tend to have better designs, modern features and they have a HUGE PERCEPTION of VALUE!.
I have had clients literally laugh at me when I told them I could get $30,000 - $60,000 more than the highest quote given to them by other sales agents. I recently sold a home with a pool that had been purchased the previous year. The owners thought they had no equity becauseThey were very happy when I delivered on my promise! The value you get for your inground pool is also enhanced by the landscaping and the design. A hot tub also adds value.
In the examples below the return on money spent on the pool was close to or exceeded 100%.
This Pool In Round Rock (Stone Canyon) Raised the value of this home by approximately $60,000 the pool cost was around $50,000! (actual house sale sold for $60,000 above the exact same floor plan which has sold repeatedly in this neighborhood for $60,000 less)
This Pool In Round Rock Texas (Stone Canyon) Raised the value of this home by approximately $50,000 the pool cost was approximately $50,000. (this plan is very common in this neighborhood and routinely sells for $50,000 less)
This pool in Round Rock Texas (Stone Canyon) Raised the value of this home by approximately $40,000. (Note: this is a very plain pool with no hot tub and only basic landscaping)
This pool in the Oaklands in Round Rock Texas raised the value of this home by approximately $50,000! The pool cost was approximately $50,000 (Note- stone coping and nice landcaping adds value too!)
This pool in Cedar Park Texas raised the value of this home by $25,000 (note: this is a very plain rectangular pool with no hot tub and no landscaping)
This pool raised the value of this home in Tonkowa Springs Round Rock Texas by approximately $35,000. (Note, very simple pool with no hot tub and basic landscaping)
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Another basic pool and a green-belt lot increased the value of this home by $40,000 over nearly identical comparables in the neighborhood. The neighborhood experts were shocked and awed by the sale. They were so bold as to tell me the home was dramatically over-priced. Fortunately the experts were WRONG!
This basic pool easily aided the sale and added at least $25,000 to the sellers pocket book!
Because of the high value of a pool I decided to add a pool to my own back yard. Above is the picture in November of 2006! We decided to do a midnight blue Pebble Tek surface and use stone coping and a raised bond beam with two scuppers (Water Features add value too!) This pool should raise the value of my home at least $55,000.
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