Can You Buy Over $1M in South Tempe or South Chandler Without a Pool?
Roughly nine out of ten homes selling above a million dollars in both South Tempe and South Chandler have a private pool. Ruling out a pool takes your search from a few hundred homes to a few dozen, and those remaining homes are simply whatever is left rather than a curated set. For most buyers who do not want a pool, buying the right home and removing the pool works out better than buying the wrong home without one.
The number
Nine out of ten. In both areas. That last part is unusual, because South Tempe and South Chandler differ on nearly everything else, from lot size to HOA structure to build era.
On pools they are identical.
So when a buyer tells me a pool is a hard no, my job is to make sure they understand the size of the decision before they make it, not after three months of frustrating showings.
What ruling out a pool actually does to your search
You go from a few hundred homes to a few dozen.
More importantly, those few dozen were not chosen for you. They are whatever happens to be left. They are not concentrated in the best streets, or the layouts you want, or the neighborhood you had your heart set on.
That means the compromise does not stop at the pool. It moves into location and floor plan, which are the two things you cannot change later.
Why it is close to universal here
There is the obvious reason. It is a hundred and ten degrees for a long stretch of the year, and a pool is what makes a backyard usable in July rather than decorative.
There is a second reason that matters more than people expect. At this price point, a pool stopped being an amenity and became an expectation. A million dollar home in Arizona without one reads as incomplete to a large share of buyers.
That affects you at resale, not only at purchase. Whatever you think about pools personally, the next buyer’s opinion is part of your investment.
Sorting out why you do not want one
The right answer depends entirely on the reason, so it is worth being specific with yourself.
If it is maintenance and cost, that is fair and it is also the most solvable version. Pool service is a known monthly number rather than an unknown. Equipment has a lifespan you can plan for. It is a line item, not a mystery.
If it is small children, that is a safety conversation with real answers rather than a reason to eliminate ninety percent of the inventory. Fencing, covers and alarms exist and they work. Have that conversation before you narrow your search, not instead of it.
If it is that you simply will not use it and do not want to look at it, that is a legitimate preference, and it points to a different strategy.
The strategy that usually works
Buy the right house with a pool, then deal with the pool.
Removing a pool is a real project. It needs to be done properly, with the right demolition and backfill method, and it needs to be disclosed. Get a bid before you commit rather than assuming a number.
But it is a normal thing that people do, and it is almost always the better trade than buying a house on the wrong street because it happened to have no pool.
If you buy one you do not plan to use
Maintain it anyway.
A neglected pool in this climate deteriorates quickly, and the repair bill at resale will exceed what the service would have cost you. It will also show in photos, and it will read to the next buyer as a house that was not looked after, which is an expensive impression to create.
If the ongoing cost of owning at this price point is on your mind generally, I broke down what it actually costs to live in Chandler at this level separately.
If you are trying to work out whether a pool is a requirement or a preference, that is worth ten minutes before you start touring. Book a call or text me at 480-448-2020.
Ben Graham, real estate advisor, South Tempe and South Chandler, $1M+ homes.
