Increase Your Home’s value: Best Backyard Upgrades

Investing in a Pool: A Smart Financial and Lifestyle Choice

For many homeowners, adding a swimming pool is more than an upgrade—it’s an investment in lifestyle and property value. While some argue that pools don’t always yield a high return, recent trends suggest otherwise. In reality, building a pool today may be a more cost-effective decision than waiting several years as construction prices continue to rise. Enhancing your outdoor living space with features like fire pits, patios, built-in BBQs, and landscape lighting can further increase your home's appeal and resale value.

The Rising Costs of Pool Construction

Over the past few years, the cost of building a pool has steadily increased due to inflation, supply chain disruptions, and rising labor costs. Materials like concrete, steel, PVC piping, and pool equipment have all seen price hikes, with pool builders reporting increases of 30-50% since 2020. Waiting five years to install a pool could mean paying significantly more due to continued inflation and higher demand.

How Pools Increase Property Value

The effect of a pool on home value depends on several factors, including location, climate, and neighborhood norms. A pool is often a must-have feature in warmer areas like Los Angeles. According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features, homeowners can recover about 56% of the installation cost of an in-ground pool upon resale. Furthermore, a well-maintained pool can increase home value by 7% or more, depending on market demand and design aesthetics.

More Than a Backyard: A Business Tool

Here’s something few people talk about: many of our clients are using their outdoor spaces as an extension of their business life.

Think about it. A stunning backyard with a modern pool, lounge area, glowing fire pit, and mood lighting isn’t just great for family weekends. It becomes the perfect spot to:

• Host client BBQs that leave lasting impressions

• Have private meetings free from office distractions

• Create a relaxed, intimate setting where real deals are made

• Throw company appreciation events or team gatherings

• Film content or hold brand photoshoots in a visually polished space

All of these activities are often written off as business expenses because they are tied directly to business development or client entertainment. That makes this kind of investment dual-purpose: lifestyle and leverage.

In an age where working from home and personal branding is the norm, a polished backyard becomes part of your professional toolkit.

Enhancing Property Value with Outdoor Living Features

A swimming pool is just one component of a well-designed outdoor space. Other backyard upgrades can further boost your home’s value and usability. Homebuyers today are looking for properties with seamless indoor-outdoor living experiences. Consider adding these features alongside your pool:

• Fire Pits & Fireplaces – A fire pit or outdoor fireplace creates a cozy ambiance, extending backyard usability into cooler months.

• Patios & Pergolas – A well-designed patio or pergola provides shade and structure, making outdoor areas more inviting.

• Built-in BBQs and outdoor Kitchens are highly desirable, especially in areas where outdoor dining and entertaining are popular.

• Landscape Lighting—Thoughtful lighting enhances the beauty of your backyard, improves safety, and creates a resort-like atmosphere at night, making it the most desirable curb appeal trend.

The Cost of Waiting: Future vs. Current Investment

Many homeowners hesitate to build a pool because they believe the investment may not yield immediate financial returns. However, delaying the decision could mean spending tens of thousands more due to rising costs.

For example:

• Due to inflation and labor shortages, a pool that costs $80,000 today could cost $100,000 or more in five years.

• Meanwhile, property values in many areas are rising faster than construction costs, meaning the investment in a pool today could add more equity to your home in the long run.

The Best Time to Build Is Now

When considering a pool and outdoor upgrades,  weighing current costs and future appreciation is essential. If you wait, you’ll likely pay more while missing out on the lifestyle benefits and potential increase in home value. Investing in a pool and other outdoor features like a fire pit, patio, and lighting will not just enhance your backyard—you’re making a smart financial move that will pay off when it’s time to sell.

Our firm is dedicated to collaborating with clients who seek to enhance their quality of life while maximizing the return on their property's outdoor upgrades. To learn more, click the link below to meet one of our designers.