Swimming Pools: Are They Worth the Cost?

Being in the swimming pool industry for over 30 years, I have been asked many times by potential pool buyers if a pool was really worth all the money they will put into it? This question always starts a great debate and as a pool professional, I would like to shead some light on the subject and answer some of the questions you might be pondering…

(1) REAL ESTATE VALUE:  The final answer is “YES”, a pool will add some value to your property. Maybe not the entire cost of the project but you could possibly add up to

50% ormore of the cost of your pool to the value of your property. You may also add quite a few potential buyers that may be in the market for a new home specifically to have a swimming pool and not want to go through the expense of installing a pool.  But real estate values are extremely local and vary subdivision by subdivision on this issue.  The person who could best quantify this issue would be a realtor who works in your exact location.

(2) IMPACT ON CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN: We all know and understand the joy of having children and grandchildren and spending good quality family time with them as much as possible. This time and the memories you make while being together is “Priceless” and by installing a pool you will give your children incentive to spend more time at home than out running around with friends. Your kids will tend to invite friends to your home to hang out since there is a pool to enjoy while at the same time it gives you the peace of mind of knowing what your children are up too, the ability to meet your children’s friends and to learn what their social life is like and perhaps even become a little bigger part of their social life yourself. For me, this is “Priceless”!!

(3) IMPACT ON THE ENTIRE FAMILY UNIT: The children aren’t the only ones that will benefit from pool ownership. By installing a pool, your home will now become the best choice when your family is planning any warm weather parties, events or get togethers. Hosting more family events will bring you closer to your family members and give you more opotunities to invite family members that you may have lost touch with over the years and bring your entire family closer than ever!

(4) IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY: Having a pool can also open the door of opportunity to host many different youth events, scout meeting’s, team parties, church events and much, much more. You can invite neighbors you have never spoken too or hold neighbor watch meetings while all the children meet and begin new friendships. The opportunities to gain new friends are endless for your whole family while strenghtening your community bond at the same time!

(5) CREATING A “STAYCATION”: You may or may not have heard of this term but as a result of the events on 9-11, many people began a trend of vacationing at home instead of traveling and exposing their family to dangers from terrorist attacks. The result was the term
“Staycation” which basically meant to stay at home with your family during

 vacation time. Many families decided to invest their vacation money in their homes on fun family activities such as swimming pools to give their families some entertainment during these times. By installing a pool you will have lot’s of fun activities available for the entire family during your vacation time!!

(6) COMPARE WAYS TO SPEND ENTERTAINMENT DOLLARS:  Let’s face it…there are lots of ways to spend entertainment dollars:  a boat, a family vacation, a second home, a Harley…  But pools have these advantages:  A pool is ready for use in your own backyard–maybe you and your family will use it more than other options; a pool is less maintenance than a boat, motorcycly or some other options; and a pool is something that lasts for many years and everyone in the family can enjoy it!

Hopefully these 6 points have helped you decide the real value of pool ownership can not be based on the financial expense alone….there are so many benefits that you can not put a monitery price tag on. “Lifetime Memories” are “Priceless”!!