You love your koi pond and your koi love it. But what happens one day if you relocate or move your home? Will buyers love it as much as you did? There are plenty of stories about koi enthusiasts having to fill their ponds in as a prerequisite to selling their home. As well as tales of koi keepers filling the pond only for the deal to fall through.
Money Back Guarantee
Probably the biggest question is will you be able to recoup anywhere close to the cost of your pond? There is a pretty good chance that the costs of building and maintaining your pond have been fairly substantial. Sadly, the answer is probably not. Koi ponds are a niche addition, not a third full bathroom where you can recoup the value of the addition in the asking price.
Of course, there are always conflicting reports about how a koi pond (or water feature) will impact the value of home’s resale value. This video on Pond Myths claims that water features are now considered one of the most sought after landscaping additions to homes.
Similarly with this Top 15 Reasons to Have Koi and a Koi Pond article that posits “any real estate agent will tell you that having a Koi pond in your backyard can enhance the marketability and real estate value of your property.” A quick search shows that not all real estate agents agree.
For example, this post from Family Focus FCU that says “if you want to add a Koi Pond or a swimming pool, you are not going to cover the costs of the home improvements if you want to resell in the future, but it is a good home improvement on a personal level.”
Or this one (mentioning koi ponds by name as a terrible choice for home improvements) suggesting that a koi pond will not help to raise your resale value.
It is probably a good idea to speak to a few real estate agents in your area to see what their experiences have been in selling homes with koi ponds or water features. You might find they have different perspectives. Needless to say, the one that has had success is probably the one you should opt for!
Time to Resell
One issue is how long your house can potentially sit on the market while the fellow ponder that is looking for a new home in your area discovers the oasis in your back yard, and comes calling. The longer it sits on the market the more price reductions you are likely to have to offer. Although the home’s value doesn’t necessarily go down, the price will while you wait for offers.
Aesthetics Count
The pond’s construction, or rather how well it has been constructed, is a predominating factor. Done well, it can be a magnificent and eye-catching addition to a back yard, and so add aesthetic value which can act as an additional selling point. If not, well, as a koi enthusiast you’ve probably seen a few that you wouldn’t give two thumbs up.
The Buyer
There really isn’t any accounting for taste. It really depends on who is looking at your home. If it is a family with young children, they might not be as excited about your pond as you are. They have to think about safety as well as unusable yard space. Another koi enthusiast might fall in love with your pond and drop a suitcase of money on his way out.
The Maintenance Factor
The size of the pond can be a deciding factor too. While a smaller manageable water feature or pond can be nice to look at without having to invest time, effort and money in the process, larger ponds (think, 10,000 gallons) might be seen as a bridge too far in terms of maintenance and/or hassle. Again, this is very much driven by a buyer’s personal tastes. You are either a ponder or not.
Ultimately, many pond and koi enthusiasts will consider the cost of pond building and upkeep an acceptable line item on their expense sheet. The pleasure (and pain) that owning koi and maintaining the environment they live in to be worth the blood, sweat, tears and cash they drop on a water feature in their yard. The real improvement is on your own personal sanity and well being.
About Next Day Koi
As a 10-year-old company, we have helped to fill ponds with koi and goldfish across the United States. We bring you high quality fish straight from some of the biggest and best koi farms in the world—at incredible prices. And our high volume of shipping means we offer some of the most competitive Next Day Air shipping rates in the industry.
This is a great article! I am an Austin Texas REALTOR® who also is a pond owner and most years, a member of the Austin Pond Society. In fact, today, members are coming out to see my Koi pond for acceptance again on the Austin Pond Society Pond Tour in June 2016. Someone who would buy my home would have to love nature and gardening. For them, it would be paradise. The photos I have taken over the years of blooms and videos I will be producing will be so beautiful because of my gardens and water features that no nature lover or gardener will be able to resist. That also goes for most Austin Pond Society member’s homes. We all love nature, water features and bringing beauty to the outdoors in a creative and really Feng Shui with water, wood, Earth and metal. I get comments all the time that my yard should be on HGTV because of all the landscaping and hardscaping I have done. So in my opinion, as a licensed Texas REALTOR® since 1998, I feel, to a buyer who loves a great yard, a pond adds value, esp. a smaller, easy to maintain yet attractive one. Others should just buy a stand alone condo or home with a super small yard, an undeveloped “natural” Hill Country yard with Native grasses, trees and boulders or live in a high rise Downtown, which is a popular choice here.
I have a 23 inch (last year) gold koi with the fanny fins ?!? House is selling march 30 17. buyer has small kids and wants to fill the pond with stone for safety. The fish must go. I do not know for sure if the other 15ish are gold fish or some koi. I need help finding a new home for them. Anything you can recommend would be greatly appreciated. We can talk too, 505-550-2727. Thanks I live in Rio Rancho NM, abutts albuquerque
We suggest contacting koi dealers or pond shops in your area and asking if they would like to take the fish, or can help you rehome it. Thanks.
[…] Sadly, the answer is probably not. Koi ponds are a niche addition, not a third full bathroom where you can recoup the value of the addition in the asking price. Of course, there are always conflicting reports about how a koi pond (or water feature) will impact the value of home's resale value. via […]
[…] Sadly, the answer is probably not. Koi ponds are a niche addition, not a third full bathroom where you can recoup the value of the addition in the asking price. Of course, there are always conflicting reports about how a koi pond (or water feature) will impact the value of home's resale value. via […]
I’m not a pond fan and looking at a home that has an extremely large 2 tier koi pond. One pool is raised on about 4 feet concrete slab connected to a larger pond by a stream. I would say it takes up 25% of the backyard. The homeowner must have spent 10’s of thousands and unfortunately it’s a big negative to us and others since this house hasn’t sold in this crazy 2022 market.. With grandchildren visitors and the desire to have living space, we have to price in many 10’s of thousands to remove it.