Building a Pool Can Mean Taking a Bath

Building a pool can mean taking a plunge in more ways than one.

"Swimming pools are very impulsive. When the weather gets warm, the phones pick up," said Bob Spero, co-owner of Maryland Pools, a pool and spa builder with offices in Columbia and Fairfax. He said his company will sell about 400 pools this year.

But such a decision shouldn't be made on a lark, local appraisers and real estate agents say. Installing a swimming pool at your home has long-term financial consequences. Besides the expenses associated with maintenance, installing a swimming pool can actually limit your home's resale prospects.

We're not talking small sums. Spero said that the average pool installation runs between $45,000 and $75,000. And he sees plenty of people spending double and triple that, once fencing, patios and landscaping are included. For many, the convenience of a private pool -- a one-stop spot for entertainment and exercise for more than half the year -- is worth it.

But what it does to the long-term value of your property varies widely, even within the Washington area.

A major factor is what the neighborhood already offers. "If there's a pool within a mile, many times then you won't find the value being repaid to you for something in your back yard," said Donald L. Burke, a now-retired real estate appraiser with more than 40 years of experience.

Richard O. Haase, a real estate appraiser with MAI Millennium Real Estate Advisors in McLean, likened swimming pools to cars, which depreciate quickly. "It's not like adding a slate roof or another room. You're probably not going to get your money back."

The investment is something you need to recoup yourself, he said. "If you have a pool, you better jump in it and swim every day."

Home sales are always seasonal, but that becomes especially true if your home has a pool. "In the spring or summer, it would be a wow factor," said Mary O'Brien, an agent with Coldwell Banker in Reston. "But I don't think it would hasten anyone's heartbeat in February."

In most parts of the Washington area, houses with pools and people who want them represent a small fraction of the market, O'Brien said. Such homes can be harder to sell, she said. Many people are turned off by the cost of upkeep, the fencing requirements and the idea of having an attractive nuisance in their backyard.

But when selling a house with a pool, "we do advertise it as a feature," she said. At a recent open house, she said, "everyone was very taken with the pool." But people with very young children said safety considerations would deter them from buying a house with a pool.

"It's more appealing to people with older kids, or without children," she said.

There is one other thing that Burke, who owned a pool while his children were younger, points out: "People worry about the cost of operation. What you should really worry about is the food. You get a lot of friends you didn't have before."