It should come as no surprise that many homebuyers, especially those that come to Sacramento from other regions, such as the Bay Area, are interested in having a pool. It should also come as no surprise that a pool has a marked impact on the value of a home. But how much, exactly? Ryan Lundquist of the Sacramento Appraisal Blog did a bit of a deep dive on the topic.

At a glance, there is a clear difference in pricing between homes with pools and without, but the homes with pools tended also to have more square footage and larger lots, so it’s not apples to apples. Moreover, this spans all sales, irrespective of location. Still, it seems clear that there is an impact.

As a buyer, it’s worth asking yourself whether it’s worth paying the premium for having a pool already, or looking at properties at lower price points that have sufficient lot size to have a pool installed.

If you look online, you may see estimates that installing a pool can cost between $30,000 and $40,000, though of course it can scale up significantly based size, features, and any additional landscaping you’ll want once it’s in.

As a seller, I wouldn’t recommend adding a pool just to add value. Install one because you want to enjoy it in your daily life. Worry about the resale price later.

As for the market in general, we’ve had 2,000 more new listings this year compared to last year, and 300 extra sales. This is still well below pre-Covid numbers, but it’s a step in the right direction. More charts illustrating the market follow.