Buy a Home This Summer in One of The Best Neighborhoods With Pools
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If you’re shopping for homes in North Texas this summer, it’s frankly difficult not to let the heat factor in to the decision-making process. But if you think about it, that gives summer buyers a certain advantage. The traditional spring busy season shows homes at their best, when the grass is green, and everything is blooming in lovely weather, but during the summer, you can tell whether that AC really does the job, and what the house looks like when everything turns brown after a month or two of extreme heat.
The downside of buying a home in the summer is, much like going to the grocery store when you’re starving, if you see a home with a really great pool during a Texas summer, you might buy it just for that and regret it later.
Buying a home with a pool has its pros and cons, but if you can get into a neighborhood with a really great neighborhood pool, it can be all pros and no cons. You have all the amenities without the labor and expense, as well as the added value to your home through proximity to a popular pool. Here are some of the area’s best neighborhoods with pools that are particularly special to consider this summer.
Glen Cove in The Disney Streets of North Dallas
If you needed another reason to live in the Disney Streets neighborhood, the popular area with the whimsical street names that has so much to recommend it, well, it also has this great club pool. I should know: I grew up here and went to Glen Cove as a kid. It really hasn’t changed all that much since I spent my summers poolside munching on cheese balls and popsicles in between games of Sharks & Minnows.
If you are looking for fancy, this is not your pool. But if you’re looking for fellowship, fun, and a safe place to learn to swim, friendly competition on the local swim team, and a throwback spot to while away the summer with neighbors, Glen Cove is the place. It’s walkable from the Disney neighborhood, the popsicles are cold, the pool is huge, and the membership is affordable. Home prices in the Disney streets are a mixed bag, depending on whether the home has been updated, but they range from around $600K to $2 million.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles Pool in Little Forest Hills
What used to be Little Forest Hills’ best-kept secret has become a popular mainstay for East Dallasites during the summer, but it still feels off the beaten path and is a definite plus to an already fantastic neighborhood. You can become a member, or pay a daily rate to enjoy the large pool, grassy areas, volleyball courts, and snack bar. The giant trees provide plenty of shade and the pool has a jet that shoots across the deep end that is not only a source of amusement, but keeps the water moving so the pool stays nice and cool all summer.
If you’re not familiar with the eclectic, “Keep Little Forest Hills Funky” neighborhood, it’s a wonderful little pocket of 1930s and ’40s cottages near White Rock Lake, just across from the Arboretum. The median home price in Little Forest Hills is $690,000, but you can find a 1940s cottage for $475K or a modern new construction home down the street for $1.5 million.
The Dallas FOE is a wonderful surprise hidden among the trees, down a winding lane off Lakeland. I always feel like I’ve stepped into Austin in the 90s when I spend a day at the FOE. You can also feel good knowing that the money you spend at the FOE goes toward its altruistic mission and service projects in the community. Anyone can go to the Dallas FOE, but unless you’re a member you pay a small entrance fee between $5 to $10. Want to become a member? It’s a bit of a secret. You have to be invited by a current member — and you can’t ask to join. Check out their website, show up, and try to embody their mission of “promoting peace, prosperity, gladness, and hope.”
Windsong Ranch in Prosper
And now for something completely different — this is next-level community pool time. Windsong Ranch is an award-winning master-planned community in Prosper that started construction in 2013, but really got going in 2020 when they opened the groundbreaking Crystal Lagoon, a five-acre, tropical-inspired “pool.” With sandy beaches, kayaking, and water sports, “pool” isn’t the right word, but this massive body of water is filtered and maintained with chemicals to keep it clean and safe. Only the lagoon uses 100 times fewer chemicals than traditional swimming pools and consumes only 2 percent of the energy required by traditional pool filtration systems. When can we get lagoons in our backyards?
But wait, there’s more — Windsong Ranch also has more traditional-sized, resort-style pools scattered throughout the development, along with playgrounds, trails, and plenty of greenspace. The lagoon has a clubhouse with a cafe; there’s also a fitness center with tennis, pickleball, and basketball courts, and currently underway is an event space that will function as a hub for indoor and outdoor community activities. Homes at Windsong Ranch range from the $500’s for a townhome, and from $700K to over $2 million for single-family homes.
Greenwood Hills in Richardson
Greenwood Hills Community Club is a private club pool in the heart of the Greenwood Hills neighborhood in Richardson. The neighborhood itself is lush with a mix of midcentury ranch-style homes and newer construction. Niche.com gives Greenwood Hills an A+ due to its excellent schools, walkability, access to amenities, and active community — and homes here sell quickly. The median home price is currently $419,900, but again, prices range wildly depending on whether they’ve been updated or rebuilt.
The club is dearly beloved by residents, surprisingly affordable, and just a flat-out blast. Surrounded by trees, the vast pool is always filled with kids of all ages, the sand volleyball court in use with kids playing or adults having a tournament, and there is an active schedule of fun events with live music and activities for the whole family all summer. You don’t have to live in the neighborhood to join, but you do have to have an address in Dallas or Collin County. The obvious benefits of living in the neighborhood are walkability — and what better way to get to know your neighbors than spending the summer grilling and cooling off at the neighborhood pool?
On a recent afternoon spent at Greenwood Hills as a guest of a friend, I was honestly shocked at how everyone seemed to know each other there. I went home to my lonely backyard pool, and sadly cleaned the dead leaves out of the pool and filter, grudgingly checked the chemicals and filled up the water that has evaporated in the hellish heat, and wondered why in the world I ever bought a house with a pool.
