Jay's Phoenix Area Real Estate (and more...)

We get this question all the time. Here’s the bottom line…

Having a swimming pool built is not cheap. If you spend $20,000 on a pool, it will not add $20,000 to the value of your home. Sadly, it may add nothing to the value of your home. Don’t add a pool to your home if you expect to recoup the cost upon sale. It just doesn’t work that way. Add a pool to your home because you want a pool. A pool is an outstanding investment in terms of recreation, fun, enjoyment, enhancing the appearance of your back yard and it provides great exercise. (In Phoenix, having a pool may mean being able to survive the summers comfortably!) There are dozens of great reasons to have a pool, but adding value to your home isn’t one of them.

(I should note that what I say above pertains to the Phoenix area. The reason it’s this way here is because so many homes have pools. In some parts of the country, a pool is rare and does add a premium to a home.)

What a pool can do is help you sell the home when the time comes. MANY people home shopping in Phoenix want a pool. We’ve had clients look at homes they loved but didn’t buy because there wasn’t a pool. Having an existing pool appeals to many home buyers. But note that there are some who don’t want a pool and won’t look at your house because it has one.

This question is currently the most viewed question on our Real Estate FAQ site.

Buy a house, get a free car! Believe it or not, it is possible to just that. As Phoenix shifts from an insane seller’s market toward (TOWARD) a true buyer’s market, many sellers are beginning to offer some unique enticements to get the attention of buyers.

The things we’ve seen range from the “typical” to the quite creative…

• Paying for closing costs

• Buying a home warranty

• Including furnishings, appliances, even the pool table.

• Paying the first months (or 2 or 3) mortgage payments

• Credit(s) for landscaping, flooring, appliances, etc.

• Guaranteeing 12 months of rental payments (Investors take note!)

• Paying for a new swimming pool (!)

• Leaving the new Toyota Four-Runner in the garage (!!)

Most of the “bigger ticket” incentives come with the caveat that the offer has to be for full price. As more sellers come in to the market and buyers become more scarce, expect to see even more bigger, badder and creative incentives for buyers.