Sunday, January 28, 2007

Just How Much Does A Pool Cost

Some companies will go to any lengths to get in front of a potential customer! For example, this weekend in the Sacramento Bee, Aqua Pools and Spas ran an ad "Pools Starting at $23,900." showing 5 different pools and NONE of the swimming pools shown could be sold for the advertised price!

This is a great example of the Used Car salesman approach. Why? In order to advertise a pool at $23,900 the very first thing you would not include is concrete decking. 2) you limit the total amount of plumbing and electrical. 3) you use equipment of the Good quality not Better or Best. 4) you limit the size of the pool to 300 to 400 square foot size and limit perimeter to less than 80 feet. and lastly, 5) you offer the customer a choice of 4 different waterline tiles.

Why not go ahead and buy a Dough Boy! All these guys are trying to do is UPSELL, UPSELL, AND UPSELL.

The truth of the matter is pools start in the low to mid 30's. The number does include concrete decking and in most backyards 400 square feet of concrete does not include a patio. Another way of budgeting for a pool is: Most people will spend on average, 10-25% TVH(Total Value of Home) on a completed backyard(includes pool, decking & landscaping). The extreme variation is partially due to geographic location, for example - you would not be advised to spend 25% in a "starter home" neighborhood and you certainly wouldn't spend 10% in an upscale, gated community.

For reference, check out the following links to a couple of pool companies that talk about the pricing:

1 comment:

Kat said...

Pool construction and maintenance are really expensive. Me and my husband wanted to have one for our backyard a year ago but we decided to pass and bought an above-ground pool instead. We got our swimming pool on sale in an online store and we are very pleased until now :)