Does a Swimming Pool Increase Home Value?

By Tim Hollinden, Broker Associate | The Hollinden Team at eXp Realty

Quick Answer

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It depends more on your buyer pool than almost any other improvement. Unlike most upgrades, a pool doesn't just add or subtract value — it can widen your buyer pool or narrow it, sometimes at the same time. In a climate like ours, with a shorter swim season than year-round warm-weather markets, that trade-off matters more than the cost of the pool itself.

What You'll Learn

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• Why pools behave differently than almost any other improvement
• What "Type 1" actually means when the improvement is already a pool
• When a refresh makes more sense than a full renovation — or removal
• How to find out whether a pool is actually helping or hurting in your specific market

Tim's Take

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Pools are one of the most polarizing improvements I deal with — and I'll be upfront about where I come from on this one. I've owned six homes with pools over the years, and I actually had five of them built, trying to make each one a little better than the last. I won't call myself a pool expert, but I've been around long enough to talk through chlorine versus saltwater, heated versus unheated, gas heat versus heat pump heat, automatic cleaners, autofill systems, automatic covers, automatic draining systems — all of it. I like pools. I wouldn't own a house without one. But I've learned over 24 years of doing this professionally that plenty of buyers feel exactly the opposite, and that split is exactly why I can't give you a simple yes-or-no answer here the way I might for a kitchen.

Why This Question Doesn't Have a Simple Answer

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Most improvements primarily affect how much buyers are willing to pay. A pool also affects who is willing to buy in the first place. It can be the exact feature that sells your home to the right buyer, and the exact feature that removes your home from consideration for someone else entirely. That's a fundamentally different kind of decision than most of what I cover in this cluster, and it's why I'd never quote a flat percentage return on a pool the way homeowners sometimes expect.

For a broader look at how I break down improvements by type, see my guide on which home improvements actually increase value in Louisville — it covers the Type 2A and Type 2B framework and explains the Neighborhood Ceiling concept that applies directly to pool decisions.

Type 1, Applied to a Pool You Already Have

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If you already have a pool, the Type 1 questions aren't about whether to build one — they're about protecting the value of what's already there. Is the pool structurally sound, with no visible cracks or persistent leaks? Does the fencing and safety equipment meet current code? Is the pump, filter, and heater actually functioning, or has maintenance been deferred? A neglected pool doesn't read as neutral to a buyer — it reads as a liability and a maintenance project, which can hurt your home's marketability more than having no pool at all.

These are the same Type 1 questions I ask about any home feature. For a deeper breakdown of what actually hurts your home's value — and why deferred maintenance is at the top of the list — see my article on what actually lowers a home's value. And for a full list of Type 1 repairs to tackle before listing, see what repairs to make before selling your Louisville home.

The Refresh vs. Renovate Test, Applied to Pools

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If the pool is dated but structurally sound, a refresh — resurfacing, updated tile, new equipment, clean and current landscaping around it — often captures most of the appeal at a fraction of the cost of a full renovation. If the pool is old, failing, and would require a genuine rebuild, that's a different and much bigger decision, and it's worth weighing against an option I don't bring up nearly as often as I should: removing it entirely. For some homes and some buyer pools, a deteriorating pool that gets removed and replaced with usable yard space protects value better than any refresh would. Removal isn't automatically the right financial decision — it depends on what buyers in your market expect — but it's an option that's often overlooked.

The same Refresh vs. Renovate framework applies to every room in the house. I cover this decision in detail in my guide on whether to remodel before selling your Louisville home.

The Evidence Test: What's Actually True in Your Market?

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Rather than assuming a pool is a plus or a minus, I'd look at the actual evidence for your specific neighborhood and price point: are comparable homes with pools selling faster or slower than similar homes without one? Is your buyer pool skewing toward families with young children, who may see a pool as a safety concern, or toward buyers who expect a pool at this price point? A pool's value is unusually dependent on who's shopping in your price range, which is exactly why local evidence matters more here than almost any other improvement decision.

This is the same Evidence Test I apply to any value-adding project. For a full walkthrough of how I evaluate whether an improvement is likely to pay off, see the Evidence Test section in my article on which home improvements actually increase value in Louisville.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Bottom Line

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A pool is one of the few improvements where the honest answer is "it depends who's buying," not "it depends what it costs." Before assuming a pool helps or hurts, it's worth checking what buyers in your specific market and price point are actually responding to.

If you're trying to figure out whether your pool is helping or working against you in today's market, I'm happy to give you a straight, evidence-based read — no pressure, no obligation. Call 502-429-3866.

Call 502-429-3866

— Tim