Swimming pools fail to make a splash with homebuyers

The latest analysis from Yopa, the full-service estate agents, has found that whilst a property complete with a swimming pool may seem like the ideal purchase ahead of the summer months, such properties account for less than 5% of total market stock and, even then, just one in five are selling.

Yopa analysed current for sale listings across the property market looking at how many homes come complete with a pool, how much they will set you back and whether the nation's homebuyers have an appetite for such a feature.*

The average asking price for a swimming pool property currently sits at £490,498, considerably higher than the wider average asking price of £267,500. However, this climbs to an eye-watering £961,006 in London, with the South East (£793,813) and East of England (£601,276) also home to some of the highest swimming pool property house prices.

However, perhaps the biggest challenge for water baby homebuyers is finding a swimming pool property in the first place.

Yopa's analysis also shows that just 4% of all homes listed across the market in England boast a pool and whilst London is home to the most homes for sale with a swimming pool, even then, they account for just 7% of total market stock.

Despite the scarcity of swimming pool for sale stock supply, Yopa's analysis also shows that such a feature doesn't seem to be making a splash when it comes to enticing homebuyers into a purchase.

Across England, only one in five (21%) of homes for sale with a swimming pool have found a buyer. To put this into perspective, demand across the market as a whole currently sits at 41%.

Swimming pools are in more demand across some regions compared to others, however, with the South West (29%), East of England (27%) and South East (27%) seeing higher levels of demand.

But whilst London may have the highest proportion of market stock with a pool, buyer appetites for this feature are at their lowest in the capital, with just 9% of homes with a pool having found a buyer in the current market.

CEO of Yopa, Verona Frankish, commented:

"A swimming pool can seem like the ultimate property feature, particularly when we do get a spell of warm weather, but it's probably not as appealing as you think when it comes to buyer appetites for such properties.

They can be expensive to maintain and homes that boast them tend to carry a high premium, even those offering access to a communal pool in a new-build development, for example.

As a result, buyer demand for swimming pool properties sits far below the wider market benchmark and this is despite the fact that swimming pool for sale stock levels are extremely low."