How the great swimming pool boom just made an even bigger splash

What cost-of-living crisis? Home owners are pressing ahead and installing backyard swimming pools to make their homes an oasis.

Household spending on swimming pool sales and services rose 13 per cent over the year to December, Commonwealth Bank research shows. That’s stronger than the rise in both total spending and spending on household services.

Some home owners are turning to more compact options to ensure good value, but others are still willing to spend $100,000 or more on their dream pool, hoping it will enhance the value of their property too.

“Pool” was the most-searched keyword by home hunters on listings website domain.com.au in 2024, beating other property features such as “waterfront” and “study”.

Commonwealth Bank senior economist Belinda Allen said consumers are deliberately choosing what they spend their money on.

Consumers who own their home outright and those with a mortgage have generally lifted spending more than renters, and while older cohorts have increased their spending, younger consumers are reducing theirs, she said.

“It would be safe to estimate that those who are lifting money on swimming pools would not be those that are feeling the most pinch with cost-of-living pressures,” Allen said.

For prefabricated plunge pool company Plungie, December 2024 was the fourth-highest month for inquiries in six years of operation, said chief executive Cam Levick, and interest hasn’t fallen away in January.

Levick said rising confidence that interest rates won’t increase again has given home owners more certainty in their planning for new home builds or upgrades. His company offers smaller pools than others, starting at $50,000 to $60,000.

Levick has noticed a longer-term shift towards spending more time at home and adding upgrades such as fire pits and barbecues as well as pools for entertaining.

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“The whole work-from-home thing, which is here to stay. And a lot of people have either a set-up in their backyard, where they used to work from home, or they can see their backyard. And I don’t think they want to just look at a patch of grass,” he said.

“They’re maybe going out to restaurants less, but they want their backyard to be a real sanctuary that they enjoy spending time in with friends and family.”

He said some home owners were not feeling the cost-of-living crisis as much as others, citing new developments in which a dozen townhouses had individual pools.

Andrew Hensher installed a pool at home in Sydney’s Roseville last year and his whole family has been getting good use out of it.

“We thought it a good option to put a Plungie pool in to encourage the kids to hang around with us and spend time with their friends here,” he said.

A lawyer, Hensher and his wife work from home and have been taking advantage of the new addition. “It’s nice to have the ability to jump in the pool after working,” he said.

They did not want a large pool, but the result is big enough to splash around without taking up most of the back garden. From researching options and their cost, they felt their choice was the best way to go.

In Melbourne’s Caulfield North, Tyrone Moore had a pool at home and last year installed a spa, too.

He said the kids love it and get more use out of it year-round, even in winter because it is heated. The spa offers a smaller area to heat than a pool.

Moore is director of the pool business Atomic Pools and said his high-end pools were also in demand.

His focus is fully tiled pools, not fibreglass, and entry-level projects cost at least $90,000.

“We’ve got a fair bit on, but we’re not crazy-crazy busy,” he said.

“People are inquiring, but then, when they realise the cost of it, it’s out of their [budget], they’re hoping it would be half the price.”

Black Group Pools director James Black, who installs prefabricated pools, is fielding double the number of inquiries to when Australia’s border was closed and home owners couldn’t travel.

His clients include doctors and dentists who are confident to spend, and he is booked out for the next three months.

When restrictions lifted, households who splashed out on a European holiday came home and realised they could spend a similar amount on a basic pool – extra for landscaping and finishing touches – that would last longer. He said the cost to get a pool in the ground starts at $55,000 to $65,000, but when glass and pavers are added, he has never done a package under $100,000.

“[People think] ‘Europe cost us $70,000,’” he said. “‘Hang on, let’s buy a pool back in our beautiful house and have it forever’.”