# Should I buy a house with a pool in St. George? > A pool gets used more here than almost anywhere. It also costs more to run here than almost anywhere. Both are true, and both matter. - Author: Kelsey Earl, Realtor, Keller Williams South Valley - Location: St. George, Utah - Section: The Washington County Insider - Published: 2026-09-05 - Canonical: https://homesbykelseyut.com/blog/should-i-buy-a-house-with-a-pool-in-st-george - Contact: 801-419-8917 · Kelsey.earl@kw.com --- **Quick answer:** Buy one if you will swim in it, not as an investment. A pool genuinely gets used here because the season is long, but it carries real running costs, evaporation is high in a desert, and it divides buyers when you sell. It rarely returns its installation cost. --- Pools come up in nearly every conversation with someone moving here, and the answer is less obvious than the climate suggests. Here is the honest version, from both sides. ## The case for **The season is genuinely long.** This is not a pool you use for eight weeks. In Washington County the swimming season runs a substantial part of the year, and with heating it extends further still. Compared with almost anywhere north of here, a pool earns its keep. **In summer it stops being a luxury.** [From June to September the middle of the day belongs indoors or in water](/blog/is-st-george-too-hot-to-live-in). Families with children discover quickly that a pool is one of the few things that makes an afternoon workable rather than something to endure. **It is where people actually socialize.** Evening swimming is a normal part of summer life here in a way it is not in a cooler climate. **Not having one has a cost too.** If the alternative is driving to a public pool several times a week with children in July, that is its own tax on your time. ## The case against **Running costs are real and they are higher here than in a milder climate.** Chemicals, electricity for the pump, cleaning, and periodic equipment replacement. None of it is catastrophic and all of it is continuous. **Evaporation in a desert is substantial.** An uncovered pool loses water steadily in this heat and dryness, and that is water you pay for. A cover is not an optional accessory here — it is the main thing standing between you and a considerably larger water bill. **Summer sun is hard on everything.** Surfaces, equipment and covers all age faster under this much UV than they would elsewhere. **It is a genuine obligation.** Somebody maintains it, either you or a service. If you travel often, that is a standing arrangement rather than an occasional one. **With young children it is a safety consideration**, and one that deserves proper attention — fencing, alarms, supervision habits, and rules that everyone actually follows. ## The resale reality This is where people get it wrong, so it is worth being blunt. **A pool rarely returns what it costs to install.** [It is one of the clearest examples of an expensive improvement that does not pay back](/blog/what-adds-value-to-a-home-in-st-george). **It genuinely divides buyers.** Some are actively looking for one. Others see maintenance, water and a hazard, and mentally deduct. [A meaningful share of the buyer pool here is retirees and second-home buyers who want less to look after](/blog/what-do-buyers-moving-to-st-george-actually-want), not more. That means a pool can narrow your eventual buyer pool as easily as widen it. **The practical conclusion:** buy a house with a pool because *you* will use it. Do not install one to sell, and do not pay a large premium for one on the theory that it will come back. If you would swim in it twice a summer, you are buying a maintenance contract with a view. ## If you are buying a house that already has one Have it looked at properly. A pool is a system, and a standard home inspection does not usually cover it in any depth. **Ask the age of the equipment** — pump, filter, heater. These are the expensive items and they have finite lives. **Ask about the surface.** Plaster, pebble and tile all have replacement cycles, and resurfacing is not a small job. **Ask what it costs to run**, and ask for actual bills rather than an estimate. The same principle applies as with utility bills generally — real statements beat recollections. **Ask whether it is heated**, and what that adds. **Check the fencing and safety features**, particularly if there are children. **Look at the equipment pad honestly.** Corroded fittings and improvised repairs tell you how it has been looked after. **Consider a dedicated pool inspection.** It is a modest cost against the price of discovering a failing shell after closing. ## The HOA question Before assuming anything, [check what the association permits](/blog/do-homes-in-washington-county-have-hoas). Some communities restrict pools outright. Some require approval for the installation and the fencing. Some have a shared pool and discourage private ones. And in [age-restricted communities the picture is different again](/blog/what-are-55-plus-communities-like-in-st-george) — many are built around shared amenities precisely so residents do not maintain their own. **If a community pool is well run and close, that is a genuine alternative** worth weighing seriously. You get the swimming without the obligation, and someone else replaces the pump. ## What I actually tell people **If you have children at home, you will use it.** It is one of the few purchases here where the pitch and the reality match. **If you are retiring here and want low maintenance, think hard.** Many people arrive wanting a pool and find within two years that it is one more thing to manage. A shared pool often serves them better. **If it is a second home, be careful.** [An unoccupied property with a pool needs a service arrangement](/blog/buying-a-second-home-in-st-george-what-to-know), not good intentions. A neglected pool deteriorates quickly in this heat. **If you are unsure, buy the house without one.** You can add a pool later. You cannot easily remove one, and removing one is worse than never having had it. ## If you are thinking about adding one Occasionally the right answer is to buy a house without a pool and put one in. **Check the HOA first**, and get the approval process in writing before you commit to anything. **Check the lot.** Access for equipment, where the pool would sit relative to the house, and whether the space left over is still usable. **Think about orientation.** A pool in full afternoon sun with no shade nearby is less pleasant than it sounds in July — you want somewhere to sit that is not baking. **Get more than one quote**, and understand what is excluded. Fencing, decking, landscaping repair and equipment upgrades are frequently separate lines. **Do not expect to recover the cost at sale.** Add one because you want it, on a timeline that suits you, with your own choices. That is the version that makes sense. I am Kelsey Earl, a Realtor with Keller Williams South Valley, and I have sold houses for people who swam in the pool twice. I have also sold for people who used it every evening from April to October. The difference was never the house. ## What to do next Be honest about how many times a summer you would actually swim. Not how many times you imagine. If the number is high, a pool here is one of the better uses of money in this climate. If the number is low, buy the shade instead — [it does more for your comfort and your bills](/blog/what-adds-value-to-a-home-in-st-george) and it asks nothing of you. [Tell me how you would use it](/contact) and I will tell you honestly whether to filter for one, avoid one, or treat it as neutral. It changes the search meaningfully, so it is worth settling early. --- Source: https://homesbykelseyut.com/blog/should-i-buy-a-house-with-a-pool-in-st-george Any market figure in this post is accurate only where a date and source are stated alongside it.