There is a surefire way to beat the heat during a Phoenix summer: a swimming pool.
Phoenix residents are fairly lucky, too. Research from Realtors.com shows that nearly 1 in 2 homes in the greater Valley area have a pool right in their backyard. That number has jump up significantly since 2019 when just 38% of homes listed had a pool.
"So half of all the homes listed for sale in Arizona so far this year do have a swimming pool, so that suggests that it feels like it's becoming much more common," said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtors.com who wrote the research report.
There are a few reasons why pools have become more commonplace in Arizona backyards, including the heat and the state's population growth. But if almost half the homes in Arizona have a backyard pool,
can it still be considered a luxury?
This week on Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we find the answer to that question. Jones along with Skip Shasta the third, the director of sales for a major Arizona pool building company, join the podcast to talk about why they've become more common and what makes Arizona stand out when it comes to the backyard oasis.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: If backyard pools are so common, are they still considered a luxury?
