Fewer Floridians, Americans building swimming pools

The big picture: Just 60,000 residential pools will be built this year, per one research firm's estimate. That's half as many as in 2021.

Zoom in: In pool-heavy Florida, residential and community pool permits are down about 13% from last year, Florida Swimming Pool Association CEO Elizabeth McMurray tells Axios.

• Like the national trend, McMurray attributes the downturn to higher interest rates, which have middle-income families holding off.
• Pools have also gotten more expensive. An average pool started at $45,000 pre-pandemic. Now, it costs $65,000 and up, she says.

Yes, but: While this year's decline is "not nothing," McMurray says more Floridians are pulling permits this year than before the pandemic.

Between the lines: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates the same on Wednesday but hinted that cuts were coming.

• "If that does happen, what we're seeing with this downturn is temporary," McMurray says. "Florida is still very active."

Meanwhile, more people are turning to trendy stock tank pools as a more cost-effective way to cool off this summer, Axios' Sami Sparber reports.

• Austin-based Cowboy Pools reports that sales have been up 30% year-over-year. That company's pools start at $3,450.