What's a reasonable price range for a basic in-ground swimming pool?

September 14, 2012 12:35 PM

What's a reasonable price range for a basic in-ground swimming pool (rectangularly shaped, 3-5ft deep, chlorine or salt water)?
posted by starkraven to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Why is it only 3-5 ft deep? In southern cal I think the ballpark for a new pool of regular depth (8 ft? Not sure.) is around $40,000. But there are many, many variables.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:44 PM on September 14, 2012

Wow, that really depends on where you are (California and Florida will be cheaper than Minneapolis)

How hard your yard is to get through (a pool at our house in Phoenix would have required dynamite to get through the rock)

How large the pool is, how easy to access your yard is, there are a myriad of variables.

One thing you should know. Pools do not return their investment. So if you put one in, it won't help your home value at all, and may hinder it as there are folks who don't want a pool.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:45 PM on September 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

In the Cincinnati suburbs, it's about $30,00-$40,000 for a pretty basic in-ground pool. So no stones or slides or waterfalls, just a rectangle, regular-depth pool. I think salt water is slightly more expensive for the install but cheaper in maintenance.
posted by cooker girl at 1:26 PM on September 14, 2012

In the Phoenix area where I live, it's typically $35k - $40k.
posted by Sassyfras at 1:37 PM on September 14, 2012

San Diego - the minimum is probably $25K, but more realistically $30-35K with no real bells and whistles. This isn't an area to cut corners with a rock-bottom price builder. Lots of pool vendors go belly up - quite possibly after they've cashed your deposit check and your yard is half dug.
posted by 26.2 at 6:06 PM on September 14, 2012