Why more home owners splashed out on a swimming pool in 2025

2 hours ago 1

Australians’ love affair with backyard swimming pools is showing no signs of slowing despite the burden of high mortgage costs and an elevated cost of living.

“Pool” was the most-searched keyword on domain.com.au for 2025, and swimming pool installers have been fielding strong demand.

The demand for home swimming pools has not been slowed by the cost-of-living crisis.

A range of styles have been popular, from smaller pools that suit compact spaces and more limited budgets but still allow home owners to get wet and cool down, through to grander options for buyers happy to spend well above six figures.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said “pool” was always a highly ranked search keyword on the listings site.

“It really shows the lifestyle-first mindset,” she said. “I think Australians begin the property journey with how they want to live, and for many users, it’s with a pool. It’s not necessarily, immediately with ‘what can I afford?’.

“It does symbolise leisure, family time, entertaining – it’s about quality of life.”

She said some households were more affected by the cost of living than others, distinguishing between the aspiration to have a pool, and the reality.

But she said many potential buyers were less affected by affordability constraints, especially if they already owned a home and had built up equity that they could parlay into getting a swimming pool.

Summertime Pools managing director Rob Kruber has been fielding solid interest from home owners.

“We’re well up on leads on what we were last year, so the interest is still very, very strong on people wanting pools in their backyards,” he said.

He noticed a shift in attitude that has persisted since the lockdown years, when people were spending more time at home.

“We realised our backyard is a big part of our house, and I think without having the backyard finished, it limits you to the inside of your house, and people wanted to get out a little bit more,” he said.

“Being Australians too, we love the outdoors and being able to get out. And sitting around a pool, getting the family together is super important to us.”

He said clients were requesting pool/spa combinations they can use all year round, and in terms of design, there had been interest in black pools.

“Pool” was the top keyword search on domain.com.au.

Many are now looking for quality and value pool options, rather than the cheapest price, he said. He has been installing pools that cost anywhere between $55,000 and $130,000, plus landscaping and fencing costs that can start from $15,000.

Retired home owners John and Anne Mennen, in their early 60s, bought an acreage in Cottles Bridge on Melbourne’s outskirts almost four years ago and are renovating their home, recently adding a swimming pool.

They started work on their deck in October last year and by January, their pool was installed in the deck, to take advantage of views over the landscape.

They chose a round Plungie, which can be heated using solar panels and is fast to clean.

John and Anne Mennen chose a round Plungie swimming pool.

“We thought, ‘in our retirement we want to garden, we don’t want to spend a lot of time on the pool’,” John said. “It’s round, we can sit there, look at the view, just relax.

“If you want to do laps, it’s the wrong sort of pool,” he said. “But if it’s just for chilling out and relaxing with friends, this is all you need. They’re great.”

Anne said: “It is a bit of an attraction if you’re inviting people over.” The couple reminded Christmas guests to bring their bathers, and they recently hosted their granddaughter’s first birthday party.

“It’s a bit of a bonus on top when you come to our place,” Anne said.

The Mennen family’s pool offers views over the landscape.

Plungie chief executive Cam Levick has been busy shipping Plungies this summer, and all year.

“We’ve shipped more pools in 2025 calendar year than we did in calendar year 2024, probably up about 20 per cent,” he said.

He has seen demand for smaller pools, like their smallest pool that can be used for hot and cold plunge, as home owners want more features in their backyards such as a fire pit and a lawn – although their largest pool remains their biggest seller.

Round pools and modern above-ground pools have been in demand as design features, he said, and wellness was on buyers’ minds. Even owners in first home buyer areas are thinking about ways to add pools without endless budgets.

His bookings for this January are higher than the same time over the past two to three years.

“We’re expecting that next year will be another growth on this year,” he said. “There’s no doubt that there is price sensitivity in the market and the uncertainty about interest rates.

“But I expect that January inquiries will be busy and lead into a really good year.”