It’s summertime and the living is easy, especially if you own a swimming pool in your backyard. According to a recent LendingTree study, America’s pool owning homeowners are enjoying a 54% premium thanks to their backyard oases.
According to the company’s data, the median home with a pool is valued at $469,187, while the median home without a pool is valued at $305,152. That’s a difference of about $164,000.
While pools can be found in housing markets across the country, LendingTree discovered which metros boast the highest shares. In order to determine which ones, the company looked at the estimated home values of more than 155 million properties in the U.S.
Their findings reveal that although 10% of American homes have a pool, the ratio is the largest in the West. According to LendingTree, six of the top 10 cities for swimming pools are located in western markets, with four belonging to the Golden State alone.
On the other end of the spectrum, cities with the least swimming pools are located in the rainy Northwest or Midwest. Notably, Portland ranks in last place with just 1% of homes having pools, while Seattle sits closely ahead with a rate of 1.3%.
According to LendingTree, these are the top 5 housing markets with the most swimming pools:
No. 5: Las Vegas
- Share of homes with pools: 23.8%
- Value of homes with pools vs. without: $ 357,000 vs. $241,000
- Price per square foot of homes with pools vs. without: $151 vs. $143
No. 4: Orlando
- Share of homes with pools: 25.9%
- Value of homes with pools vs. without: $307,000vs. $206,000
- Price per square foot of homes with pools vs. without: $137 vs. $128
No. 3: Tampa
- Share of homes with pools: 27.7%
- Value of homes with pools vs. without: $296,000 vs. $180,000
- Price per square foot of homes with pools vs. without: $147 vs. $129
No. 2: Miami
- Share of homes with pools: 30.6%
- Value of homes with pools vs. without: $459,000 vs. $282,000
- Price per square foot of homes with pools vs. without: $198 vs. $185
No. 1: Phoenix
- Share of homes with pools: 32.7%
- Value of homes with pools vs. without: $355,000 vs. $224,000
- Price per square foot of homes with pools vs. without: $157 vs. $136
NOTE: To determine the cities with the highest share of homes with swimming pools, LendingTree looked at August data from its database of U.S. residential properties. The database includes estimated home values for more than 155 million properties in the U.S. based on public tax, deed, mortgage and foreclosure data, as well as proprietary local data.
