Does a Pool Add Value to a Home? US Pool Premium Estimates Reconciled

Summary

• Seven US hedonic studies of sales from 1991 to 2022 put the pool premium at 1.6% to 15.2% of home value, with a median of 5.4% (PC&S calculation; largest study: Klaiber et al.).
• The largest study, 614,464 Phoenix-area sales from 1999 to 2005, found a pool premium of 5.6% (Klaiber, Abbott and Smith (NBER, 2015)).
• The newest study, 18,411 Memphis MLS sales from 2006 to 2022, implies an in-ground pool premium of only 1.7% over homes with no pool (De Freitas et al. (2026)).
• Realtor.com’s widely quoted 54% US pool premium for April 2025 is a raw gap in median list prices; on a per-square-foot basis it falls to 21.2% (Realtor.com).
• Comparing same-ZIP, same-bedroom listings, Realtor.com put the US pool listing premium at about 8% in 2023 (Realtor.com).
• Redfin’s 2018 data valued a pool at 3.6% to 17.6% of median sale price across 19 metros, but at -$15,484 in Boston (Redfin).
• US REALTORS estimated in 2023 that a $90,000 in-ground pool recovers $50,000, or 56%, at sale; only 1% recommend adding one before selling (NAR).
• At the median 5.4% premium, a pool on a $389,000 US home adds about $21,006, or 47% of Fixr’s $44,688 average build cost (PC&S calculation; Fixr).

Does a pool add value to a home? The estimates side by side

Fourteen published estimates of the US pool premium are shown below with their method, market, years and sample. They disagree mainly because they measure different things: sale prices of comparable homes, list prices with few controls, automated valuations, or agent opinions.

Studies that compare homes with and without a pool while holding size, age, location and other traits constant put the premium between 1.6% and 15.2% of value. The median of their headline estimates is 5.4% for all seven studies and 5.6% for the five academic papers (PC&S calculation from Frey et al. (2013), Cho, Bowker and Park (2006), Asabere and Huffman (2009), Klaiber, Abbott and Smith (NBER, 2015), De Freitas et al. (2026), Konecny (2011) and Hoffman (2012)).

Why pool value estimates disagree: list prices, home size and location

The bigger the reported pool premium, the fewer controls behind it. Homes with pools are larger and sit in pricier areas, so raw comparisons attribute those differences to the pool.

Realtor.com’s 54% figure compares the median US list price of homes with a pool ($599,000) with homes without ($389,000) in April 2025 (Realtor.com). Pool homes were 32.4% larger, 2,450 square feet against 1,850 (Realtor.com). On a per-square-foot basis the premium was 21.2%, or $43 per square foot (Realtor.com). Realtor.com itself notes that homes with a pool may also be located in higher-priced areas.

When Realtor.com compared only listings in the same ZIP code with the same number of bedrooms, the US pool listing premium was about 8% in 2023 (Realtor.com). That is 15% of the 54% raw gap; the per-square-foot adjustment alone leaves 39% of it (PC&S calculation).

• Sale-price hedonic studies (Frey, Cho, Asabere and Huffman, Klaiber, De Freitas, Konecny) measure what buyers paid, after controls.
• Listing analyses (Realtor.com) measure asking prices, which can differ from sale prices.
• Zillow’s 2.1% saltwater-pool figure compares sale prices with a pre-listing Zestimate, so it measures the extra effect of mentioning the feature, not pool versus no pool (Zillow Research).
• Valuation-model studies (Hoffman 2012; the Zestimate model in Frey et al.) measure an algorithm’s view, which can understate the pool: 1.8% and not significant against 15.2% in sale prices for the same Long Beach homes (Frey et al. (2013)).
• NAR’s $50,000 figure is an opinion survey of 1,891 REALTORS, not a transaction analysis (NAR).

What hedonic sale-price studies find, market by market

Five academic papers and two master’s theses supply the controlled estimates. They cover Arizona, California, Tennessee and Texas, use sales from 1991 to 2022, and range from 651 to 614,464 transactions.

• Phoenix area, Arizona: 5.6% premium (OLS 6.1%), 614,464 sales, 1999 to 2005; 33% of homes had a pool (Klaiber, Abbott and Smith (NBER, 2015)).
• Long Beach, California: 15.2% premium, 651 sales, 2000 to 2011; 7% of homes had a pool (Frey et al. (2013)).
• Knox County, Tennessee: 11.3% premium, 15,894 sales of homes built and sold 1991 to 2004; local estimates -18.9% to 17.6% (Cho, Bowker and Park (2006)).
• San Antonio, Texas: in-ground pool 1.6% (preferred model) to 9.6%; above-ground pool 6.5%; 9,710 sales, 2001 to 2002 (Asabere and Huffman (2009)).
• Memphis, Tennessee: in-ground pool 1.7% over no pool; above-ground pool 3.7%; 18,411 MLS sales, 2006 to 2022 (De Freitas et al. (2026)).
• Sacramento, California (thesis): 1.6%, not significant, to 3.3%; 10,052 sales, 2008 to 2009 (Konecny (2011)).
• Southern Arizona (thesis): pool adds $8,641 to a mean Zestimate of $160,720, or 5.4%, in January 2011 (Hoffman (2012)).

A meta-analysis of hedonic pricing studies found that swimming pool coefficients vary significantly by geographical location, one of six housing traits for which that was true (Sirmans et al. (2006)). Only the abstract could be opened, so its numeric pool results are not used here.

Weighted by number of sales, the five academic papers average 5.6%, because the Phoenix sample dominates (PC&S calculation from Klaiber, Abbott and Smith (NBER, 2015) and the other papers).

Pool premium by climate and market type: Sun Belt versus cold-winter markets

Climate shapes how often a pool can be used, but the price data do not split cleanly into a high Sun Belt premium and a negative northern one. Hot-climate metros show a wide spread, and several cold-winter metros show listing premiums above 10%.

Season length is the clearest climate difference. In 2024, 81.4% of Western pool homes and 70.9% of Southern pool homes used the pool 8 to 12 months a year, while no sampled Northeast household did and 40.9% of Northeast pool homes used it 0 to 3 months (PC&S calculation from EIA RECS 2024 and EIA RECS 2024). See also pool season length by city.

Redfin’s 2018 data put the median value of a pool at 11.3% of metro median sale price across 19 metros, from 3.6% in San Diego to 17.6% in Austin (PC&S calculation from Redfin). California metros had the lowest group median, 6.8%, because high home prices dilute a dollar premium; Texas metros had the highest, 15.4%.

Boston, the only cold-winter metro in Redfin’s analysis, was the only one where a pool lowered value, by $15,484 (Redfin). Yet four of Realtor.com’s 10 highest pool-premium metros in 2023 were in the Midwest or Northeast, led by Dayton at 11.6% (Realtor.com). Zillow Research put it this way: ‘A pool may be a must-have in Arizona, but a nuisance in Indiana’ (Zillow Research).

Pool prevalence did not predict the premium. Across the 19 Redfin metros, the share of 2018 sales with a pool and the premium as a share of price had a Spearman rank correlation of -0.12, close to zero (PC&S calculation). Phoenix, where 32.1% of 2018 sales had a pool, had one of the lowest premiums at 4.3% of median price.

How appraisers and lenders treat a pool

Federal lending guidance does not assign a pool a set value. It tells appraisers to give a pool only the contributory value the local market supports, which can be little or nothing where pools are unusual or not working.

Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide says a home with an in-ground pool in an area where pools are not typical may be considered an over-improvement, and lenders must ensure only its contributory value is reflected (Fannie Mae Selling Guide).

HUD’s FHA handbook says ‘Swimming pools must be operational to provide full Contributory Value’ and that winterized pools are appraised under an extraordinary assumption that they can be restored at normal cost (HUD Handbook 4000.1).

The 2025 Cost vs Value Report, a common source for remodeling payback figures, covers 28 projects in 119 markets and has no pool project (Journal of Light Construction). NAR’s 2023 outdoor report does cover pools: REALTORS put recovery at 56% of a $90,000 pool, the lowest of 11 outdoor projects (NAR).

Property tax assessors value pools under different rules; see pool property tax for that side of the question.

Pool premium versus build cost: how much of the cost comes back

At typical premiums, a new pool returns well under its build cost at resale. Only the highest published estimates, applied to a mid-priced home, exceed the average cost.

Fixr puts the US average cost to build a pool at $44,688, with most projects between $32,175 and $58,541 (Fixr). Applying the median 5.4% premium to the $389,000 median list price of a US home without a pool (April 2025) gives $21,006, or 47% of that cost (PC&S calculation; Realtor.com). See average cost to build a pool.

Running costs reduce the net further. A weekly service contract costs $1,040 to $2,600 a year, or $10,400 to $26,000 over ten years before repairs, energy and insurance (PC&S calculation from Fixr). See cost to run a pool pump and cost to heat a pool.

When a pool adds nothing or lowers a home's value

The sources point to the same conditions for a zero or negative premium: pools that are unusual for the area, not working, in short-season or low-price markets, or that bring liability and upkeep costs buyers discount.

Triple-I says the insurance industry treats a pool as an ‘attractive nuisance’ and suggests liability limits of at least $300,000 or $500,000 (Triple-I). Local barrier rules add cost too; see pool fence laws by state. Owners who decide a pool is a net cost sometimes remove it; see pool removal statistics.

Reconciling the estimates

Download the calculation sheet (CSV)

What holds up and what does not

1. Long Beach, California homes with a pool sold for 15.2% more than homes without, in 651 sales from 2000 to 2011 (Frey et al. (2013)).
2. In the same Long Beach study, a model using Zillow Zestimates instead of sale prices found a pool effect of 1.8% that was not statistically significant (Frey et al. (2013)).
3. In Knox County, Tennessee, a pool raised the price of homes built and sold from 1991 to 2004 by 11.3% on average across 15,894 sales (PC&S conversion of the 0.107 coefficient; Cho, Bowker and Park (2006)).
4. Local estimates in that Knox County study ranged from -18.9% to 17.6%, so a pool lowered predicted price in some parts of the county (Cho, Bowker and Park (2006)).
5. In San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas (9,710 sales, April 2001 to March 2002), the in-ground pool premium was 9.6% in Model 1 but 1.6% in the authors’ preferred Model 2 (Asabere and Huffman (2009)).
6. In Maricopa County, Arizona, where 33% of sampled homes had a pool, the premium was 5.6% across 614,464 sales from 1999 to 2005 (Klaiber, Abbott and Smith (NBER, 2015)).
7. In Sacramento, California, 2008 to 2009 sales of 10,052 homes showed a 1.6% pool premium that was not statistically significant, rising to 3.3% after a weighted correction (Konecny (2011)).
8. In Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, the in-ground pool coefficient was 0.105 against 0.088 for no pool in 2006 to 2022 MLS sales, a 1.7% gap (PC&S calculation; De Freitas et al. (2026)).
9. US homes with a pool listed for a median $599,000 in April 2025, against $389,000 for homes without, and were 32.4% larger (Realtor.com).
10. The US raw pool premium peaked at 61% in January 2022 and the per-square-foot premium peaked at 25.6% in February 2022 (Realtor.com).
11. Realtor.com’s like-for-like US pool listing premium fell from about 10% in 2017 to nearly 6% in 2019 before rising again (Realtor.com).
12. Four of Realtor.com’s 10 highest pool-premium metros in 2023 were in the Midwest or Northeast: Dayton (11.6%), Pittsburgh (11.5%), Wichita (11.0%) and Kansas City (8.9%) (Realtor.com).
13. In 2024, 81.4% of Western US pool homes and 70.9% of Southern pool homes used the pool 8 to 12 months a year; no sampled Northeast household did (PC&S calculation; EIA RECS 2024).
14. Across 19 Redfin metros in 2018, the share of sales with a pool had almost no relationship with the pool premium (Spearman rho -0.12; PC&S calculation from Redfin).
15. A listing that mentioned a saltwater pool sold for 2.1% more than its pre-listing Zestimate, across 3.1 million US sales in 2020 and 2021 (Zillow Research).

Most recent filings and releases

• 2026-09Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide (published 2026-09-02) still tells lenders that an in-ground pool where pools are not typical may be an over-improvement (Fannie Mae Selling Guide).
• 2026-08HUD’s Handbook 4000.1 update of 2026-08-12 keeps the rule that a pool must be operational to receive full contributory value in an FHA appraisal (HUD Handbook 4000.1).
• 2026-03EIA’s preliminary 2024 RECS tables (March 2026) show 9.6 million US homes with a pool and how many months each region uses them (EIA RECS 2024).
• 2026De Freitas et al. published a Memphis hedonic study covering MLS sales through 2022 that implies a 1.7% in-ground pool premium (De Freitas et al. (2026)).
• 2025-05Realtor.com reported the raw US pool premium at 54% in April 2025, down from 61% in January 2022, and 21.2% per square foot (Realtor.com).
• 2025The 2025 Cost vs Value Report covers 28 remodeling projects in 119 markets and includes no swimming pool project (Journal of Light Construction).

Related questions

Questions and answers

Source grading

Tier 1: primary and government sources (10)

• National Bureau of Economic Research: Some Like It (Less) Hot: Extracting Tradeoff Measures for Physically Coupled Amenities (NBER Working Paper 21051)
• Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics (Springer): The Grass Isn't Always Greener: How Crime Influences Property Values Near Urban Greenlines
• Agricultural and Resource Economics Review (AgEcon Search copy): Spatial Hedonic Valuation of a Multi-use Urban Wetland in Southern California
• Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics (Springer): The Relative Impacts of Trails and Greenbelts on Home Price
• University of Tennessee and USDA Forest Service (AgEcon Search): Measuring the Contribution of Water and Green Space Amenities to Housing Values: An Application and Comparison of Spatially-weighted Hedonic Models (AAEA selected paper)
• Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics (RePEc listing): The Value of Housing Characteristics: A Meta Analysis (abstract)
• Fannie Mae: Selling Guide B4-1.3-03, Neighborhood Section of the Appraisal Report
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (Update 18 redline)
• U.S. Energy Information Administration: RECS 2024 Table HC2.7, Northeast and Midwest
• U.S. Energy Information Administration: RECS 2024 Table HC2.8, South and West

Tier 2: trade bodies, public companies, market research (7)

• National Association of REALTORS: 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features
• Fixr: Cost to Build a Swimming Pool
• Fixr: Pool Maintenance Cost
• Journal of Light Construction: 2025 Cost vs Value Report
• Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I): Pool safety and insurance
• California State University, Sacramento: Urban Form and Home Value: A Hedonic Analysis in Sacramento, California (M.S. thesis)
• Brigham Young University: Value of Bundled Recreation Amenities in Southern Arizona Communities: A Hedonic Pricing Approach (M.S. thesis)

Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (7)

• Realtor.com Economic Research: Swimming Pools in the Housing Market: A Cooling Trend in Premium, but Still a Hot Commodity
• Realtor.com: Dive In! The Top 10 Places Where a Pool Adds the Most Value to a Home
• Redfin: Here's How Much Value a Pool Adds to a Home in Certain Metro Areas
• Zillow Research: Home features that sell, 2022 (listing-description feature premiums)
• Zillow Research: Home features that sell, 2023
• Zillow: Is a Pool Worth It? What to Know Before Taking the Plunge
• Opendoor: Does a Pool Add Value to Your Home? What the Data Actually Shows

Bibliography

1. National Bureau of Economic Research. Some Like It (Less) Hot: Extracting Tradeoff Measures for Physically Coupled Amenities (NBER Working Paper 21051). Accessed 2026-10-07.
2. Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics (Springer). The Grass Isn't Always Greener: How Crime Influences Property Values Near Urban Greenlines. Accessed 2026-10-07.
3. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review (AgEcon Search copy). Spatial Hedonic Valuation of a Multi-use Urban Wetland in Southern California. Accessed 2026-10-07.
4. Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics (Springer). The Relative Impacts of Trails and Greenbelts on Home Price. Accessed 2026-10-07.
5. University of Tennessee and USDA Forest Service (AgEcon Search). Measuring the Contribution of Water and Green Space Amenities to Housing Values: An Application and Comparison of Spatially-weighted Hedonic Models (AAEA selected paper). Accessed 2026-10-07.
6. Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics (RePEc listing). The Value of Housing Characteristics: A Meta Analysis (abstract). Accessed 2026-10-07.
7. Fannie Mae. Selling Guide B4-1.3-03, Neighborhood Section of the Appraisal Report. Accessed 2026-10-07.
8. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (Update 18 redline). Accessed 2026-10-07.
9. U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2024 Table HC2.7, Northeast and Midwest. Accessed 2026-10-07.
10. U.S. Energy Information Administration. RECS 2024 Table HC2.8, South and West. Accessed 2026-10-07.
11. National Association of REALTORS. 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features. Accessed 2026-10-07.
12. Fixr. Cost to Build a Swimming Pool. Accessed 2026-10-07.
13. Fixr. Pool Maintenance Cost. Accessed 2026-10-07.
14. Journal of Light Construction. 2025 Cost vs Value Report. Accessed 2026-10-07.
15. Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I). Pool safety and insurance. Accessed 2026-10-07.
16. California State University, Sacramento. Urban Form and Home Value: A Hedonic Analysis in Sacramento, California (M.S. thesis). Accessed 2026-10-07.
17. Brigham Young University. Value of Bundled Recreation Amenities in Southern Arizona Communities: A Hedonic Pricing Approach (M.S. thesis). Accessed 2026-10-07.
18. Realtor.com Economic Research. Swimming Pools in the Housing Market: A Cooling Trend in Premium, but Still a Hot Commodity. Accessed 2026-10-07.
19. Realtor.com. Dive In! The Top 10 Places Where a Pool Adds the Most Value to a Home. Accessed 2026-10-07.
20. Redfin. Here's How Much Value a Pool Adds to a Home in Certain Metro Areas. Accessed 2026-10-07.
21. Zillow Research. Home features that sell, 2022 (listing-description feature premiums). Accessed 2026-10-07.
22. Zillow Research. Home features that sell, 2023. Accessed 2026-10-07.
23. Zillow. Is a Pool Worth It? What to Know Before Taking the Plunge. Accessed 2026-10-07.
24. Opendoor. Does a Pool Add Value to Your Home? What the Data Actually Shows. Accessed 2026-10-07.