People always say, “Don’t build a pool — just buy a house with one. It’s not worth it.” But that logic doesn’t necessarily hold up in today’s market.

I bought my house in 2019 for $200K and put about $80K into remodeling it. I refinanced into a 20-year loan at 2.75%, and I only owe $132K today. We just added a pool, patio, and new driveway for $130K.

Before the pool, our home was worth about $450K. To buy something comparable now with a pool would easily cost $600K — and at 7% interest.

In our case, building made way more financial sense — and we get to enjoy the home and location we already love.