In the swim with a pool
Many people love the idea of a swimming pool in the backyard, but pools do not necessarily increase a home’s market value, experts tell Miriam Bell.
Karen Bell’s three children love swimming, but getting them all to the beach is challenging, so she decided to put a swimming pool into the family’s Whanga¯ rei backyard.
While convenience is one reason for the move, she loves the idea of having a pool for her kids and their friends as they grow up.
‘‘People who have them told us that as the kids become teens they still tend to hang out by the pool, and that means you know where they are and what they are doing.’’
There is real value in that, and in creating family memories over the years ahead, she says.
But installing the pool has not been easy or cheap. She and her husband started the process a year ago, and the pool, and its surroundings, was just completed recently.
All up, it cost $120,000, but that included landscaping, concreting, fencing, and all the ‘‘bells and whistles’’, she says. ‘‘If we were going to do it, we wanted to do it right.’’
That means they chose a selfcleaning pool, which was more expensive but will make for lower maintenance and chemical costs in future.
The pool is also heated and, although it will be turned off for four to five months a year, it will be interesting to see how much their power bills go up by, she says.
‘‘It is all worth it though, we have no regrets about the decision. We are looking forward to having it in summer, and having people over to enjoy it with us.
‘‘That’s what we wanted it for, and for us that adds value to our home.’’
But whether installing a pool increases a property’s value is a contested topic because, while many people love having a pool, equal numbers view them as a liability.
Anecdotally, demand for pools has grown over the past few years, fuelled by pandemicenforced time at home and related renovation spending, along with the desire to avoid busy, public places.
Pool Doctor general manager Megan Cooksley says her Auckland business has been booming since Covid hit, and customers with newly installed pools are a big part of that.
It is hard to come by figures on exactly how many new pools have been installed nationwide in recent years. But an Auckland Council spokesperson says the number of registered pools in Auckland has increased by 6254 since 2017.
And they do have pulling power. Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams says ‘‘pool’’ is consistently one of the top five most popular search terms on the site nationwide, winter or summer.
Trade Me Property sales director Gavin Lloyd says that when the weather starts to heat up, the site experiences a spike in the number of searches for properties with a pool. In November there were 28,000 searches for properties with pools.
But they do have more appeal in some parts of the country than others, new Trade Me Property figures reveal.
The property website analysed what percentage of listings mentioned ‘‘pool’’ in the description in November, although it notes the figures will include ‘‘spa pools’’ as well as ‘‘swimming pools’’.
It found that 8% of listings nationwide mentioned ‘‘pool’’ in the description, but on a regional basis the percentage varied widely. While 17% of listings in Gisborne featured ‘‘pools’’, only 1% of listings in Southland did.
Pools were more popular in Auckland and Bay of Plenty, with 10% of listings mentioning ‘‘pools’’, and Hawke’s Bay and and Waikato, with 9%, than West Coast, with 3%, or Taranaki and Otago, with 4%.
Lloyd says the national average asking price for a property with a pool was $1.20 million in October, compared to $887,000 for a property without one.
‘‘But it’s important to remember that properties which have a pool are typically on a larger section with a bigger house, and that also contributes to the higher asking price.’’
It is difficult to isolate, and analyse, whether there is any added market value from a pool, Bayleys head of insights Chris Farhi says.
Bayleys’ analysis of its recent sales shows that across most regions the average selling price for properties with pools was $300,000 to $350,000 more than those without pools.
The price difference was higher in some regions, particularly Auckland.
There will be multiple factors linked to this, but the primary factor is that homes with pools tend to have larger land holdings and are generally higher-end homes, rather than the pool alone, Farhi says.
Bayleys figures, which do not include lifestyle properties, support this, as they show homes with a pool had land area that was, on average, 246m2 larger.
They also show that while in sales of homes in the $3m-plus bracket 37% had a pool, in sales of homes under $1m only 6% did. In sales of homes in the $1m to $3m bracket, 15% had a pool.
Farhi says there are lifestyle benefits that come with pools, especially for families with children of the right age, but there are also downsides, including installation costs, maintenance and upkeep, and the loss of the land for other purposes.
‘‘Our view is that a pool will be reasonably value neutral, once you account for the cost to add the pool, but they are likely to add value for a subset of homes and buyers.’’
Century 21 owner Tim Kearins says that when selling a property, old pools can be a liability, and in some cases, it is better to remove them before a sale.
But new or well-maintained pools can add considerable value. Families in particular are drawn to them, and in a softer real estate market, they could make all the difference, he says.
‘‘We encourage people to talk to their agents about whether an old pool is an asset or a liability, because they can cause grief during the sales process.’’
For Cooksley, the value of a pool comes from the lifestyle and experiences they provide, not from any potential financial boost they might give a property.
They are about relaxing and entertaining in the privacy of your home, and about keeping the kids entertained over long, hot summers, she says.
‘‘It’s cheaper to have them occupied with your own pool, than it is to take them on lots of outings to places like Rainbow’s End, and it teaches them about water safety too, so there’s value in that.’’
‘‘It’s cheaper to have the kids occupied with your own pool than it is to take them on lots of outings to places like Rainbow’s End, and it teaches them about water safety too.’’
Megan Cooksley
Pool Doctor general manager
Putting in a pool is expensive. It can easily cost upwards of $100,000 once landscaping, fencing, and the consent process is factored in, she says.
There are also ongoing maintenance costs, although these vary. For do-it-yourself pool owners, the cost might be limited to the chemicals required for their pool, although they can scale up to buy tools such as robot vacuums (for up to $4000).
Over the longer term, there are costs from the periodic repair and replacement of the pump and filters, and every 15 to 20 years a pool will need to be resurfaced.
There are more costs for timepoor owners who use a pool services company, depending on the level of service, Cooksley says.
Pool Doctor’s valet service has a weekly cost of $65 plus chemicals and parts, or a fortnightly one of $75, but a basic weekly chem check costs $30 plus chemicals and parts.
‘‘But if someone can afford to put a pool in they should be able to afford to maintain it properly, whether they do it themselves, or employ a pool services company.
‘‘If you are thinking of putting a pool in, and the ongoing maintenance costs are a concern because they will stretch your budget, don’t do it.’’