feature Homes with pools are sought after and buyers are willing to pay more, but who they are and where do they live?
Pools are valued assets
for home purchasers
A
series of surveys has highlighted that swimming pools are popular with home buyers. The results are not consistent by any means – which is probably more to do with the data collection methods and criteria than anything else. However, all are generally positive for vendors of homes with pools. Traditionally, homes with pools had been seen to be worth more, but to a narrower market headed by families. Some of this data raises some interesting questions however. One survey found pools in inner Melbourne add at least $140,000 to the property value; another found that overall 60 per cent of Australians would pay more for a home with a pool; while another discovered that “pool” is the most popular search term for home buyers across the country.
Pool is the most searched term
Data provided to the Saturday Daily Telegraph by realestate.com.au showed that “pool” was the most searched for term by home buyers nationally. The term was searched nearly 270,000 times over the previous six months in NSW alone, five times more than the 52,000 searches of “waterfront” — the second most searched term. Granny flat came in third with 34,000 searches. In Victoria pools also won out, with the second most searched for term being garage, followed by courtyard. In Queensland second best was the acronym NRAS, standing for National Rental Affordability Scheme, followed by pets. South and Western Australian house hunters similarly searched for pets and 36 SPLASH! June/July 2018
granny flat, while those in the ACT and Northern Territory were seeking a “furnished” property. Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee was quoted by the Telegraph as saying it was unsurprising pools were a popular choice as many people still looked for that “dream” of owning a home with a swimming pool, and that there is a high demand for pools from families and investors.
Who will pay more for a house with a pool?
One recent study by an online mortgage broker found more than half of Australian home purchasers would pay more for a house with a pool. Lendi surveyed more than 1000 Australian men and women online to find out how much more they would pay, and what demographics they fitted into. Slightly more than 60 per cent said they would pay more. In the current competitive environment, it is possibly not surprising that nearly 40 per cent said they didn’t want to pay extra for the already expensive urban real estate. But most said they would. The most popular extra price to pay was $10,000 for a house with a pool (15.7 per cent) followed by $20,000 (10.8 per cent) – while nearly one in seven said they’d pay $50,000 or more, with 5.8 per cent responding with valuations upwards of $200,000. Clearly, a pool is a worthy investment to some Australians. But who are they? It turns out men would pay more than women. There were 44.9 per cent of male respondents who said they would pay up to $20,000 more for a house with a pool, compared to 34.6 per cent who were women.
Also, the younger the respondents were, the more likely they were to pay extra for a property with a pool, with nearly half (47.7 per cent) of the Generation Y sample paying up to $20,000 more, and 41.1 per cent of Generation Xers, compared with 31.6 per cent who were over 55-years-old. Results didn’t vary too much between respondents in different cities but those from states and territories in warmer climates valued a house with a pool a little more. When combining respondents from Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory, about five per cent more said they’d pay up to $20,000 extra for a house with a pool compared to those in southern states. Of course, most people get swimming pools to improve their lifestyle, health and happiness, but it also helps to know it will improve their property value.
Inner city pools are worth even more
Melbourne property market analyser Secret Agent conducted research last year that found swimming pools can add more than $140,000 to the value of an inner Melbourne property – with some drawing an extra $450,000. Secret Agent researches the Melbourne property market with the aim of improving prospects for purchasers, vendors and agents. They looked at ten suburbs in Melbourne’s inner East and South East: Kew, Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, Toorak, Kooyong, Armadale, Malvern, Glen Iris, Camberwell and Brighton. The study was limited to only include three to five bedroom houses for a more realistic representation of a pool’s value. On average, a swimming pool added between 10 per cent and 16 per cent to the value of a house, with the lowest expected value created being approximately $140,000. However, this varied between suburbs, from as low as six per cent in Camberwell, up to 35 per cent in Hawthorn East. In Kew, houses that featured a pool were expected to sell for $450,000 more, which is a premium of about 30 per cent. In Hawthorn, a pool is expected to only add $180,000 (11 per cent) to the value of a property. There are a few explanations for the differences in added value. For example, a big house may have other extensive renovations aside from a pool; such as a cellar, theatre room, tennis courts and sculptured gardens. Additionally, the number of car spaces and the school zoning would have an impact on sale price. Secret Agent says that a swimming pool can be a wonderful addition, satisfying our instinctive need to be close to water, while also being a good investment as the lowest expected additional value is around $140,000. n
Younger purchasers are more willing to pay more for a pool than the over 55s