Homes with swimming pools no longer command the massive premiums seen during the COVID-19 pandemic—but they remain highly desirable and valuable.
As of April this year, the typical home with a pool was listed for $599,000, up more than 44% from 2019 and just shy of the June 2024 peak, according to a new Realtor.com® report on swimming pool trends in 2025.
During the same period, the national median list price for a home without a pool surged 42%, from $274,000 before the onset of the pandemic to $389,000 in April 2025.
"Interestingly, while prices have climbed across the board, the price gap between homes with and without pools, in percentage terms, has narrowed from its pandemic highs," says Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones. "This doesn't necessarily mean pools are less valuable, but rather that the market's premium specifically for this amenity has softened."
According to Jones, this development should not come as a surprise. At the height of the pandemic, the popularity of private swimming pools soared, as stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions kept most people from going on vacation.
"This surge in demand translated into a substantial pool premium, where homes featuring a pool commanded significantly higher asking prices compared to their pool-less counterparts," explains the analyst.
This trend reached a record high in January 2022, when the typical U.S. home with a pool commanded a staggering 61% price premium.
End of pandemic triggered market shift
But as the effects of COVID-19 waned and life resumed its normal course, allowing people to leave their homes and travel again, homebuyer preferences saw a shift in the desirability of pools.
According to the latest data analysed by the team at Realtor.com, as of this April, the price premium for a home featuring a pool has slipped 7 percentage points from its 2022 peak, settling at 54%, which is similar to pre-pandemic levels.
"This recalibration suggests that the unique circumstances that inflated pool values are no longer the dominant market force," says Jones.
However, a look at the inventory of for-sale properties shows that pools remain a highly sought-after amenity. Last month, the share of listings with a swimming pool climbed to an all-time high of 24.4%.
"This suggests that sellers appreciate the potential appeal of a pool, even as the magnitude of the price premium has adjusted," according to Jones.
In 2022, buyers were often willing to pay top dollar for desirable amenities like a pool in a market with fewer available listings and intense competition. Today, there are more options for house hunters to choose from, and they are less likely to spend as much time at home, splashing in their backyard pool, compared with three years ago.
As a result, would-be buyers are less willing to pay as big a premium for a home with a pool as in the past—and home sellers aware of this shift are lowering their prices to meet the market.
Swimming pools are most popular in these markets
Unsurprisingly, homes with pools tend to be most in demand in the South and the West, where the climate is hotter than in other parts of the U.S. and people enjoy being outdoors.
What's more, in warm-weather metros, a pool is often considered a standard amenity by buyers, rather than an added luxury.
So far this year, balmy Miami had the highest share of listings with a pool, at nearly 62%, followed by Phoenix (58%), Orlando, FL (55%), Austin, TX (52%), and Tampa, FL (48%).
Compared with 2019, Las Vegas saw the biggest surge in the portion of for-sale properties with pools. Six years ago, only 16% of listings in Sin City featured pools; in 2025, that figure surpassed 43%.
Other cities that experienced a similar trend included Houston, TX, Nashville, TN, Indianapolis, and Miami.
"Notably, many of these metros have also witnessed substantial new-construction activity over the past six years," points out Jones. "This suggests a strong correlation between new development and the increasing availability of homes with pools, either private or within community amenity packages."
Overall, what the latest trend report shows is that while the sky-high price premiums on homes with pools have retreated from the pandemic days, a pool remains an attractive feature, so long as home sellers don't overestimate its worth.
"Sellers should be mindful of the evolving market dynamics and avoid overpricing their properties based solely on the presence of a pool," cautions Jones. "The market is more sensitive to value, and buyers have more choices."
Meanwhile, buyers are advised to weigh the benefits that having a pool could potentially add to their lifestyle against the price premium, while also taking into account the maintenance responsibilities and costs that come with having a pool.
"The dream of a backyard oasis remains alive, but its market value is now grounded in a more balanced reality," concludes Jones.
Read more at Realtor.com
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