Does a Hot Tub Add Value to Your Home?

When relaxing in your hot tub alone or with your family, enjoying the clean, warm water and the health benefits of immersion and powerful jet massage, it’s easy to see how your tub adds value to your life. But does it add value to your home?

That’s a question many homeowners ask as they shop for their first hot tub or prepare to sell a home with a tub in the backyard. But the answer depends on the buyer and, often, on the climate in a seller’s location.

A hot tub might offer a sense of luxury, but there’s no guarantee that feeling will translate to dollars. Some prospective buyers touring the home might see themselves relaxing in the hot tub and enjoying its many advantages, others who know little about hot tubs may think only of its maintenance, which in reality is simple.

Still, under the right circumstances, a hot tub might add value to a home. After all, not every home on the market offers relaxing hydrotherapy steps away from the back door.

If a prospective buyer has spent any time at all in a hot tub, he or she will grasp its value. But it’s also important to remember that not all buyers live in the homes they purchase. Some buy with the intention of renting.

A hot tub is a feature that may appeal to landlords, especially those who rent at the upper end of the market, because it could add value to a rental home. A hot tub can also mean the difference between a luxury rental and just another home for rent.

Short-term home rentals are also increasing in popularity. So, if you are a home buyer interested in owning a vacation rental property, a hot tub will make the property stand out among others in the area.

One of the greatest experiences you can have as a hot tub owner is enjoying a soak outside in winter as the snow falls. The value of the moment needs no explanation. A close second to that experience is enjoying a similar circumstance at a ski lodge or slopeside vacation rental.

If you’re selling a home with a spa in a northern city or town with long, cold winters or near a ski resort, a buyer—landlord or not—might be willing to pay a bit more.

A home hot tub’s value is truly experiential. Hot-tubbers appreciate that a warm soak is just outside the door and that their tub is ready anytime they’re in the mood. For them, the value of warm water immersion is something no one can really put a price on:

• Buoyancy. A hot soak takes pressure off your muscle and joints, allowing them a break from gravity.
• Reduction of inflammation. Immersion helps with recovery, compressing and supporting the muscles and reducing inflammation from a hard day’s work or a workout.
• Dilation of blood vessels. In warm water, blood and the oxygen and nutrients your body needs to heal flow more freely.

The benefits of a hot tub continue after a soak, too. Once you emerge from a hot tub, your body temperature falls, triggering sleepiness. A hot soak before bed helps guide you to a restful night’s sleep.

People who have experienced the many benefits of a hot tub understand the value it brings not just to a home, but to everyday life. They form a segment of home buyers who are eager to take advantage of those rewards every day in their own backyards. A listing that features a picture of an attractive home with an equally attractive home hot tub is sure to glean looks from interested buyers.