Does a Pool Add Value to a Home in Stuart, Florida? What the Market Data Shows

If you are buying or selling a home in Stuart, Florida, there is a question that comes up frequently:

How much does having a private swimming pool really matter?

We live in Florida. Pools are part of the lifestyle, but they are also expensive improvements. Depending on the design, size, decking, screen enclosure, equipment, site conditions, and other features, installing a pool can represent a substantial investment.

But does the market actually recognize that investment?

As both a Realtor and a State-Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, I wanted to look beyond the usual answer that “buyers in Florida like pools.” I wanted to see what buyers were actually paying for homes with pools compared with homes without them in the Stuart market.

The results were interesting.

Appraiser’s Perspective (RD8755)

Thomas J. Dunphy III, State-Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser RD8755

For this analysis, I reviewed detached three-bedroom homes in Stuart using market data for the 12-month period ending August 31, 2026.

The three-bedroom restriction is important.

I did not compare every detached home with a pool against every detached home without one. Both searches were restricted to three-bedroom detached homes, creating a more focused comparison.

I initially separated the properties into two groups: homes with private pools and homes without private pools.

During the most recent three-month period, the median sale price of the three-bedroom homes with private pools was $740,000.

For three-bedroom homes without private pools, the median sale price was $480,000.

That's a difference of $260,000.

So is a pool worth $260,000 in Stuart?

No.

That isn't what these numbers tell us.

Why You Can't Call $260,000 the Value of a Pool

A median sale price tells us what happened within a group of properties. It doesn't tell us exactly why it happened.

Even though both groups consisted of detached three-bedroom homes in Stuart, the homes with pools could have been larger. They could have been located in different neighborhoods. Some could have been waterfront. There could also have been differences in condition, quality, renovations, site size, garages, age, views, and other amenities.

As an appraiser, I would not subtract the median price of one group from another and call the difference a market adjustment for a swimming pool.

So I took the analysis another step.

What Happens When We Compare Similar-Sized Homes?

I kept both searches restricted to detached three-bedroom homes in Stuart, but narrowed the living area to 1,700–1,900 square feet.

Now both groups had several significant characteristics in common: location in Stuart, detached design, three bedrooms, and a relatively narrow range of living area.

The primary search distinction was whether the property had a private swimming pool.

And the price difference didn't disappear.

Three Bedrooms, 1,700–1,900 Square Feet — With a Pool

During the current three-month period, the pool group recorded 9 settled sales, with an absorption rate of 3.00 sales per month.

There were 6 active listings, resulting in 2.00 months of housing supply.

The median sale price was $664,000, median marketing time for settled sales was 43 days, and the median list price was $744,000.

There was also movement in median sale prices across the three periods analyzed. The median increased from $517,500 during the prior 7–12 months to $595,450 during the prior 4–6 months and $664,000 during the current three months.

Three Bedrooms, 1,700–1,900 Square Feet — Without a Pool

I then analyzed the same type of property without a private pool.

During the current three-month period, the no-pool group recorded 11 settled sales, an absorption rate of 3.67 sales per month, 19 active listings, and 5.18 months of housing supply.

The median sale price was $480,000, median marketing time for settled sales was 24 days, and the median list price was $599,000.

That gives us a much more focused comparison:

With Pool: $664,000 Median Sale Price

Without Pool: $480,000 Median Sale Price

Difference: $184,000

Even after restricting the analysis to the same city, detached homes, the same bedroom count, and a 200-square-foot living-area range, there remained a $184,000 difference between the median sale prices of the two groups.

Does That Mean a Pool Is Worth $184,000?

Again, no.

And this distinction is important.

This analysis has controlled for some significant characteristics, but it has not isolated the swimming pool itself.

Individual properties within the two groups can still differ in neighborhood, waterfront influence, site size, condition, quality, renovations, garage characteristics, age, view, and other features.

Determining the actual contributory value of a pool for a particular property requires additional market analysis designed to isolate the market's reaction to that specific feature.

What these numbers do show is that within the defined market segment, homes with private pools were selling within a substantially different price range than homes without them.

That's meaningful market evidence. It just isn't a $184,000 pool adjustment.

The Housing Supply Numbers Tell Another Part of the Story

Price wasn't the only significant difference.

During the current three-month period, the pool group had only 2.00 months of housing supply.

The no-pool group had 5.18 months of housing supply.

That's an interesting difference.

The pool group recorded 9 sales during the current three months, while the no-pool group recorded 11 sales.

Again, none of this proves a specific dollar adjustment for a pool. But it does demonstrate that the two groups were behaving differently in the Stuart market during the period analyzed.

What About the Cost of Installing a Pool?

This is where the discussion becomes especially important for a buyer.

Installing a pool can represent a substantial expense. Depending on what is being built, total costs can run well into the tens of thousands of dollars and can approach or exceed $100,000 for certain installations.

From an appraisal standpoint, however, cost does not automatically equal value.

If a homeowner spends $70,000 installing a pool, that doesn't automatically mean the property's market value increases by $70,000. Nor does our $184,000 median-price difference mean that spending $70,000 on a pool creates $184,000 in additional market value.

But our Stuart analysis does provide evidence that the market was recognizing a significant difference between the pool and no-pool segments.

And that leads to another question.

If You Know You Want a Pool, Should You Buy the House With One Already There?

Tom the Realtor’s Perspective

If you're moving to Florida and you already know that a private pool is something you want, I think this is an important question to ask before buying:

Would you rather purchase the house with the pool already there, or buy a house without one and then pay to build it?

Suppose you purchase the no-pool house.

You move in. You're paying your mortgage. Then you start getting estimates for the pool.

Now you have another substantial expense to fund. Depending upon how you pay for it, that could mean using cash or obtaining separate financing. You also have design decisions, permits, contractors, construction activity, disruption to the backyard, and the time involved before the project is finished.

There is another option.

Buy a property where the pool is already part of the real estate.

Subject to the property's appraised value, your loan program, down payment and other financing terms, you're purchasing the home and its existing improvements together rather than buying the house first and undertaking a separate pool project afterward.

For a buyer who already knows a pool is important, that can be a significant practical consideration.

But Don't Buy Just Any House Because It Has a Pool

An existing pool isn't automatically an advantage.

Its condition matters.

How old is the pool? What is the condition of the surface? What about the equipment? Is there a screen enclosure? What condition is the decking in? Are repairs approaching?

Those questions need to be considered along with the rest of the property.

The goal isn't simply to find a house with water in the backyard.

It's to find the right house with the right pool at a price supported by the market.

What This Means for Stuart Home Sellers

If you're selling a Stuart home with a private pool, this analysis provides useful market information.

The numbers suggest that pool homes within the segment studied were competing at different price levels and with substantially less housing supply than the comparable no-pool group.

But that doesn't mean a seller should simply take the price of a no-pool house and add $184,000.

Your entire property has to be analyzed.

Location, living area, condition, renovations, site characteristics, garage, waterfront influence, pool condition, and other amenities all contribute to how buyers perceive the property.

The question isn't simply:

“How much is my pool worth?”

The better question is:

“Where does my entire property compete against the homes buyers are considering?”

That's the question I want answered before establishing a listing strategy.

What This Means for Stuart Home Buyers

Buyers need to be equally careful.

If you're considering a three-bedroom pool home and find a similarly sized three-bedroom home without a pool that sold for substantially less, don't immediately assume the pool home is overpriced.

Find out what else is different.

Are they in the same neighborhood? Is one waterfront? Has one been renovated? Are the sites comparable? What are their conditions? Are the garages and other amenities similar?

The pool may explain some of the difference.

Other characteristics may explain the rest.

That's why analyzing comparable properties is more useful than relying on a single rule of thumb.

What Did the Stuart Market Actually Tell Us?

Our initial comparison of all detached three-bedroom homes showed:

$740,000 median sale price with a pool

versus

$480,000 median sale price without a pool.

That's a $260,000 difference.

I wasn't comfortable stopping there because the pool homes could simply have been larger.

So I narrowed both groups to three bedrooms and 1,700–1,900 square feet.

The difference became smaller — but it didn't disappear.

The resulting current median sale prices were:

$664,000 with a private pool

versus

$480,000 without a private pool.

That's a $184,000 difference.

At the same time, the pool group showed 2.00 months of housing supply compared with 5.18 months for the no-pool group.

Does this prove that a swimming pool adds $184,000 to a Stuart home's value?

Absolutely not.

Does it provide evidence that buyers were treating pool and no-pool properties differently within this defined Stuart market segment?

Yes.

And to me, that's the more important finding.

The Appraiser’s Edge

Real estate valuation isn't about assuming that a feature is worth a predetermined amount.

It's about studying what buyers and sellers are actually doing.

In this analysis, I controlled for property type, bedroom count and a relatively narrow range of living area. Even after doing that, the pool and no-pool groups showed a substantial difference in median sale prices and housing supply.

That doesn't give us a pool adjustment.

It gives us market evidence.

For buyers who already know they want a pool, it also raises a practical question worth considering before purchasing a home: Do you want to buy the pool with the house, or buy the house and then take on the expense and process of building the pool afterward?

There isn't one answer for every buyer or every property.

But now we have actual Stuart market data to help start the conversation.

Data & Analysis Disclosure

This analysis is based on residential market data from the Martin County Realtors of the Treasure Coast MLS for the 12-month period ending August 31, 2026. The analysis was limited to detached three-bedroom homes in Stuart and, where specifically indicated, was further restricted to properties containing 1,700–1,900 square feet of living area.

The analysis compares groups of properties and does not constitute an appraisal of any individual property or establish a specific contributory value or adjustment for a swimming pool. Other property characteristics may contribute to the differences observed between the groups.

Tom Dunphy Realtor (Fulton Grace Realty)
Licensed Florida Real Estate Sales Associate

Thomas J. Dunphy III
State-Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser RD8755

THE APPRAISER’S EDGE. THE RELOCATOR’S INSIGHT.

Tom Dunphy Sells Real Estate. Just Does More.