Phoenix pool premiums dip amid market cooldown
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A backyard swimming pool can help you cope with the Valley's scorching summers, but it no longer boosts your home's sale price like it used to.
The big picture: The price premium for homes with pools is slipping back to pre-pandemic levels, Realtor.com reports.
- The typical asking price boost is now roughly 21% per square foot compared to homes without pools, down from a 26% peak in 2022.
Zoom in: More than 58% of home listings in the Phoenix area had pools, the second-highest rate in the country.
- Though pools have long been a ubiquitous feature of Valley homes, we've also seen one of the highest increases of houses with pools in recent years.
- In 2019, 50% of Phoenix area home listings had pools. Our 8.4 percentage point jump over the past six years was the ninth highest in the U.S. in that period.
Zoom out: Nearly one in four listings offered a pool in April — a record high, according to the real estate site.
- In addition to Phoenix, they're most common in sweltering Miami and Orlando, Florida.
- Many metros with the biggest jumps, including Las Vegas and Houston, were homebuilding hot spots in recent years, where pools are a popular perk.
Between the lines: Houses with pools tend to be larger and often sit in pricier neighborhoods.
- Nationally, the median listing was $599,000 in April and is expected to climb this summer.
- That's compared to $389,000 for a pool-free home, per the report.
Reality check: Pool or not, home prices have soared since the pandemic.
What's next: Other backyard features (think: outdoor showers and kitchens) can also help homes sell for more, Zillow research shows.
Our thought bubble: A pool won't add as much to your home's value as it did even a few years ago, but given that the majority of houses in the Valley have one, many homebuyers in the Valley likely expect it.