Indoor Pools and Home Values

24 Oct Indoor Pools and Home Values

Can Indoor Pools Sink Home Values?

From Wall Street Journal

Adding an inground pool may or may not affect a home’s value, as there are myriad opinions on both sides of this issue.  Indoor pools are even more specific when it comes to ownership, according to this article from the Wall Street Journal.  The article by Leigh Camping Carder says that only 500-600 luxury home listings in the United States, or .7% include indoor pools.  Whether making the investment will yield a good return, these homeowners that are fortunate enough to afford and enjoy this amenity wouldn’t change a thing.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

“It’s a highly personalized amenity that requires a lot of maintenance,” said New York-based appraiser Jonathan Miller. “That’s not for everybody, but the ones that have it would swear by it.”

In the U.S., only about 500 to 600 luxury-home listings—or about 0.7%—include indoor pools, mostly in more seasonal areas like New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Connecticut, Colorado and Illinois, said Javier Vivas, manager of economic research at Realtor.com. Properties priced over $1 million were asking only 4% more per square foot than homes without a pool whatsoever and 2% less than homes with outdoor pools, according to data from Realtor.com. ( News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal, also owns Realtor.com, the listing website of the National Association of Realtors.)

The previous owner of Ms. Bailey’s home had initially covered up the pool for showings, she said. She said she was struck by the novelty of it and decided to uncover the pool after she bought the home. She declined to disclose the purchase price. Now, however, she is moving on because she travels frequently, and “I’ve decided I don’t need to be defined or confined by the four walls anymore.” The home was auctioned off on Oct. 12 by Concierge Auctions with no minimum bid; it was last listed for $8.9 million. The final sale price has not been disclosed because it is still under contract.

Indoor pools can range from basic basement lap pools to resort-style pools with over-the-top features. A typical, 20-by-40-foot indoor pool starts around $150,000 and can easily run to seven figures, said James Atlas of Wheeling, Ill.-based Platinum Pool. A project might take three to four months, a few more weeks than an outdoor pool, he said. Building a separate structure to house a pool is usually easier because it doesn’t require retrofitting the space and there is more “elbow room” to do the work, said Ruth Aveta of Creative Master Pools, based in Lincoln Park, N.J.

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