Deep demand for homes with the most-searched term in property: a swimming pool
Home offices and courtyards may be popular for those looking at property listings in a pandemic, but it seems there’s one thing everyone wants: a swimming pool.
In fact, “pool” was the most searched term on Domain’s listings in October across all capital cities, with buyers hoping to dive into a resort-style home as the weather heats up.
It comes as no surprise to Swimming Pool & Spa Association of Australia chief executive Linsday McGrath, who said this year had been the busiest ever for the industry.
“There’s never been a higher demand in the history of swimming pools and spas in Australia,” Mr McGrath said. “Even with travel opening up, we haven’t seen a drop in demand.”
Mr McGrath said demand was 50 per cent higher this year, with those wanting a pool or spa facing a wait of between three and 12 months to have it completed, depending on the project.
The popularity of existing homes with pools has also never been higher, with agents saying people with young families and even downsizers wanted a home with a pool.
Even in Melbourne, famous for four seasons in one day, there has been deep demand for pools, especially following months of coronavirus-related lockdowns over the past two years when people became used to spending so much time at home.
South-east of the city, in Frankston South, a home at 33 Derinya Drive with a $1.44 million to $1.58 million price guide is proving popular with prospective buyers.
It has a uniquely shaped pool in the backyard that buyers had been drawn to, Eview Group selling agent Dena Kibblewhite said.
“I think in this area, where the property is on a bigger block [almost 2300 square metres], people generally want pools,” Ms Kibblewhite said.
“They’re looking for lifestyle homes where they have resort-style living in case of another lockdown. It’s really future-proofing your family in the current environment.”
In Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula, a home at 8 Freelands Drive priced between $3 million and $3.3 million also comes with its own serene swimming spot.
Marshall White Mornington Peninsula sales executive Dominic Salvato said home swimming pools were offering a sanctuary for buyers looking to escape the city.
“Even if they are locked up [in lockdown], they don’t feel hemmed in,” Mr Salvato said.
Pools are a way of life in Sydney, though they are becoming rarer in some parts of the city.
“I think the pool aspect has become a lot rarer in Sydney’s south-west because of the decreasing land size,” McGrath Estate Agents Liverpool principal agent Glen Craigie said. “It does encourage buyers a bit more.”
The recent listing of a five-bedroom home with a pool at 42 Riverview Road, Pleasure Point, has received many inquiries. It has a price guide of $2.2 million. And in Baulkham Hills, pools are in hot demand, McGrath Castle Hill selling agent Thomas Choy said.
A four-bedroom home at 8 Astrid Avenue is proving popular with families with young children, with a price guide of $1.8 million, Mr Choy said.
“It’s been really popular because of this COVID-thing,” he said. “Everyone wants to get out and have a dip in the water, but they’ve been frustrated when they can’t go to the beach or jump in the river [when in lockdown].”
Mr Choy added that downsizers were also looking for a building with a pool when purchasing an apartment.
Further north in Brisbane, pools have become a familiar part of many family homes. Even close to the inner city, in suburbs like New Farm, pools are highly sought after.
That includes a four-bedroom home at 98 Villiers Street, which has an L-shaped pool in the backyard. Scheduled for auction on November 27, the home had already received some pre-auction offers, Sixty Four Property director Ivo Kornel said.
Like in other capitals, young families were the leading group of buyers seeking out swimming pools.
“It just depends where people are in the cycle of things,” he said. “If they have young kids, they want a pool.”
In recent years, swimming pools have also become a lot more popular in Adelaide, Toop & Toop Real Estate sales partner Sally Cameron said.
“The swimming pool thing has changed considerably. It never used to add value, but now it does,” Ms Cameron said. “People are looking for one; even downsizers are looking for properties with plunge pools.”
A property with a pool at 7 Holden Avenue, Woodville West, is proving popular with prospective local buyers and those from interstate parties, as it has a price guide of $990,000.
“It’s under $1 million to buy a house like that, and it’s just five minutes from the CBD,” Ms Cameron said.
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