Homes With Swimming Pools: Easier or Harder to Sell?

Is it easier or more difficult to sell a house with a swimming pool?

The simple answer is... it depends on who's interested in buying.

There are estimated to be almost 5 million homes in the United States with in-ground pools -- those dug into a yard.

The vast majority of those are houses on the higher end of the price market, according to an article on about.com.

There are buyers who won't look at a home unless it has a pool. This is especially true in warmer areas.

There are others, especially families with small children, who won't consider a house that does have a pool.

There is a thread of pros and cons on home swimming pools on this story on trulia.com.

In the Rockridge area, we couldn't find a home for sale with a pool in the back yard, but we did find one in nearby Montclair with a deck on which you can enjoy the sun.

It's this three-bedroom, three-bathroom house at 6859 The Turn in Montclair that sits on a quarter-acre. The 2,160-square-foot house, built in 2004, is listed at $849,000.

Rachael Hand, a broker associate with Coldwell Banker, said anyone purchasing a home with a pool should have an inspection done by a qualified pool inspector.

"Do not have a pool service company do the inspection, but a true inspector," said Hand. "There are only a few out there that are good and a good Realtor will have a referral for one when the time comes."

Do you know of other homes with a pool for sale in your community? Let us know in the comments section.

To read about other houses with pools or decks in nearby communities, check out Piedmont Patch and Berkeley Patch.

This information was provided by Rachael Hand, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker and director for the Contra Costa Board of Realtors (DRE 01450616), 925-372-8080 or rachael.hand@cbnorcal.com. Properties featured in this article may be offered by a variety of local real estate firms.