Does a Pool Add Value to Your Home in Nashville?

2 days ago
4 min read

Does It Add Value Here? — Vol. 01

A neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at one of the most common questions I get from Nashville homeowners.

Most people ask me whether a pool adds value to their home. What they're really asking is: should I build one, or was it a good investment?

The honest answer is that it depends — not on national averages, not on what you read online, but on the specific neighborhood your home sits in. And that distinction matters more than most homeowners realize before they pour the concrete.

This is the first in a series I'm calling Does It Add Value Here? — where I take common renovation questions and answer them the way they should be answered: by neighborhood, by price point, and by what buyers in that market actually expect when they walk through the door.

We're starting with pools, and we're looking at three Nashville markets: Green Hills, Brentwood, and Franklin.

The Question to Ask Before Anything Else

Before you build a pool — or price your home assuming one adds significant value — look at what homes around you have.

Appraisers don't assign value in a vacuum. They look at comparable sales. If most homes in your neighborhood don't have pools, appraisers have limited data to justify a significant premium, regardless of how beautiful your pool is. On the other hand, in neighborhoods where pools are common, not having one can actually put your home at a disadvantage.

That one question — what do comparable homes have? — changes everything.

Green Hills

Green Hills buyers are paying for location, walkability, lot size, and quality of finishes. Amenities like pools are secondary to those priorities.

A pool in Green Hills can be a genuinely beautiful addition to a home, and some buyers will love it. But most comparable sales in this market don't include one, which makes it difficult for appraisers to support a meaningful price premium at resale.

Verdict: Lifestyle upgrade. Modest value impact. If you're building a pool in Green Hills because you want to enjoy it, that's a completely valid reason. Just go in understanding it's unlikely to return significant value when you sell.

Brentwood

Brentwood is where the math starts to shift.

Larger lots, higher price points, and a buyer profile that expects thoughtful outdoor living all work in favor of a well-designed pool. In the right pockets of Brentwood — particularly in the $1.2M and above range — a pool paired with quality hardscaping, landscaping, and outdoor entertaining space can support a meaningful difference in sale price.

That said, condition matters enormously here. A dated, poorly maintained pool in Brentwood can hurt your price as much as a new one helps it. Buyers at this price point are discerning, and a pool that signals deferred maintenance signals it everywhere else too.

Verdict: Can add real value — if it's well-maintained and the neighborhood supports it.

Before building, pull the comparable sales in your specific area of Brentwood. The data will tell you more than any general rule.

Franklin

Franklin requires the most nuanced answer of the three.

In newer master-planned communities where homes are similarly sized and finished, a pool can be a genuine differentiator — the feature that makes a buyer choose your home over the one down the street. In older, more established Franklin neighborhoods, it depends heavily on what comparable homes have sold for and what buyers in that corridor expect.

The $800K–$1.1M range is where I see the most variance. Some buyers in that range see a pool as the reason to choose your home. Others view it as an added maintenance responsibility and factor it into their offer accordingly.

Verdict: Know your street before you build.

The Number Most Homeowners Don't Know

Nationally, homeowners recover somewhere between 30% and 60% of what they spend on a pool at resale. That puts pools on the lower end of home improvement returns — well below projects like updated kitchens, fresh paint, or improved landscaping.

That number can be even lower in markets where pools aren't the norm.

This isn't a reason not to build a pool. It's a reason to go in with clear expectations. A pool built for enjoyment, for your family, for the summers you'll spend at home — that's a completely legitimate reason to invest in one. A pool built primarily to increase your sale price is a riskier calculation.

Because in Middle Tennessee's luxury market, having a pool can make the difference between a buyer loving your home or simply liking it. The question is whether that difference justifies the investment for you specifically.

Before You Build: Four Questions Worth Asking

1. What do nearby homes have? Run a comparative market analysis or ask a local agent to pull recent sales in your neighborhood. Look at how many included pools, and whether those homes sold for more per square foot than those without.

2. What's your price point? Pools tend to perform better at higher price points where buyers expect and value outdoor living. At lower price points, the same money often goes further on improvements with broader buyer appeal.

3. Is this a lifestyle decision or a financial one? Both are valid. But they're different decisions, and being clear about which one you're making leads to better outcomes.

4. Have you talked to someone who knows your specific street? National data and general guidelines are a starting point. Someone with deep knowledge of your neighborhood, your price range, and recent comparable sales can give you an answer that actually applies to your home.

A Note on Selling a Home That Already Has a Pool

If you're preparing to sell and your home has a pool, a few things matter more than anything else:

Condition is everything. A clean, fully functioning pool signals a well-maintained home. A neglected one invites price reductions.
Get a pre-listing pool inspection. Standard home inspections often skip pool systems. Knowing the condition of your pump, filter, and plumbing before you list gives you control over how issues are disclosed and addressed.
Document maintenance history. Buyers want to know when equipment was last serviced and replaced. Clear records reduce
negotiation friction after inspection.

This is Vol. 01 of Does It Add Value Here? — a series exploring how common renovations and improvements translate to home value across specific Nashville neighborhoods. Future installments will cover kitchen renovations, ADUs, outdoor living spaces, and more.

Have a specific improvement or neighborhood you'd like covered? I'd love to hear it.

Lila Gray Nashville Real Estate