Australia's pool precincts

At first glance, the data supports an intuitive correlation between climate and pool ownership. However, the national picture becomes more complex when examining absolute numbers.

Darwin leads the nation with pools featuring in nine per cent of all house sales, a figure that reflects its tropical climate where pools offer year-round relief from the heat. This northern dominance continues with regional Queensland (3.4 per cent) and Brisbane (2.9 per cent) showing the next highest proportions of pool sales.

Conversely, the cooler southern capitals of Canberra and Hobart record minimal pool ownership at 0.26 per cent and 0.14 per cent respectively, seemingly confirming the climate hypothesis.

Australia's largest property markets lead pool sales: Sydney tops the list with 923 pool properties sold (1.9 per cent of total sales), followed closely by Melbourne with 909 sales (1.5 per cent). Regional Queensland, including the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, ranks third with 890 pool sales. Among major cities, Perth comes fourth with 484 sales, while Darwin comes ahead of only Canberra and Hobart with just 68 swimming pool sales.

But Melbourne emerges as a fascinating outlier, ranking second in terms of total pool sales and dominating the list of top 10 suburbs despite being the second-southern most capital city in Australia.

It not only defies the relationship between climate and pool ownership but also appears to overshadow Sydney as the most popular region for swimming pools. While Sydney leads in total pool sales across its metropolitan area, Melbourne's pool market shows greater concentration in specific high-value suburbs, creating distinct "pool precincts," particularly in the city's affluent inner south and east.

Brighton, Melbourne's renowned bayside suburb, emerges as the leader in swimming pool sales, with 31 properties featuring pools changing hands over the past year. With swimming pool sales representing 9.7 per cent of all house transactions, it's unsurprising that Brighton is also the most expensive suburb on the list, with a geometric mean house price of $3 million.

The geographical distribution of top pool-selling suburbs reveals a strong balance between coast and urban influence. Half of the top ten suburbs directly border the ocean: Brighton (Melbourne), Hampton (Melbourne), Mount Eliza (Melbourne), Beaumaris (Melbourne), and Birkdale (Brisbane). Brighton East (Melbourne) and Baldivis (Perth) sit within comfortable walking distance of the coast.

Even the inland exceptions - Camberwell, Glen Iris, and Malvern (all in Melbourne) - lie within a 30-minute drive of Port Phillip Bay, suggesting that proximity to water remains a key factor in pool ownership patterns. At the same time, all top ten suburbs lie within 30 minutes of their respective CBDs, indicating that pool ownership in Australia's most active markets correlates strongly with established wealthy areas rather than newer outer suburban developments.

Ultimately, the data suggests that while climate creates the conditions for pool ownership, wealth and location ultimately determine where pools become defining features of residential real estate. Melbourne's dominance of the top 10 pool suburbs, despite its southern location, demonstrates how socio-economic factors can override climatic considerations in shaping the geography of pool ownership.