‘On average, a swimming pool added between 10% and 16% to the value of a house, with the lowest expected value created being approximately $140,000’ – Secret Agent.
In the past few weeks, Buyer’s Advocate ‘Secret Agent’ have discussed the changing attitudes towards the amount of backyard inner city buyers prefer, and the value created by having a pool in your house. Secret Agent looked at ten suburbs in Melbourne’s inner East and South East: Kew, Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, Toorak, Kooyong, Armadale, Malvern, Glen Iris, Camberwell and Brighton. The study was limited to only include three to five bedroom houses for a more realistic representation of a pool’s value. On average, a swimming pool added between 10% and 16% to the value of a house, with the lowest expected value created being approximately $140,000. However, this varied between suburbs, from as low as 6% in Camberwell, up to 35% in Hawthorn East. In Kew, houses that featured a pool were expected to sell for $450,000 more, which is a premium of about 30%. In Hawthorn, a pool is expected to only add $180,000 (11%) to the value of a property. So building a pool in your house makes sense even if you consider moving and selling the home later on. Making sure there is enough space to build a pool could also be on your next house moving checklist.
There are a few explanations for the differences in added value. For example, a big house may have other extensive renovations aside from a pool; such as a cellar, theatre room, tennis courts and sculptured gardens. Additionally, the number of car spaces and the school zoning would have an impact on sale price. A swimming pool can be a wonderful addition and a good investment, despite its seemingly high upfront costs, since the lowest expected value it can create is around $140,000. Much more than just dollars and cents, a pool satisfies our natural, instinctive need to be close to water.
Read the article ‘Pools Add At Least $140,000 In Value To A House’ online HERE.