Homeowners across the country gave in-ground pools a perfect Joy Score of 10 out of 10 after completing the project, according to the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Landscape Professionals. That is one of the highest satisfaction ratings any home improvement project has received in the survey’s history.
For homeowners weighing outdoor living upgrades, that kind of data is worth paying attention to, especially in a state where the backyard often gets used more months out of the year than the living room does.
Which Outdoor Living Upgrades Give Homeowners the Most Satisfaction?
The 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features surveyed thousands of homeowners and Realtors to see which projects delivered the most happiness and the best financial return. The results split those two things in an interesting way. Projects that scored highest on joy were not always the ones with the best cost recovery, and that gap says a lot about why people actually invest in outdoor living upgrades in the first place.
An in-ground pool addition earned the highest Joy Score in the report at a perfect 10, with landscape lighting also scoring a 10 and a new patio close behind at 9.9. These are the upgrades that change how a family actually lives day to day, not just how the house looks from the street.
What Is the Most Popular Backyard Upgrade Right Now?
Outdoor kitchens have become one of the most requested outdoor living upgrades for Arizona homeowners, and the data backs up why. The same NAR and NALP report found an outdoor kitchen carries a typical cost of around $15,000 and recovers 100 percent of that cost at resale, tying it with an overall landscape upgrade for the best return among mid to large projects.
The appeal in Arizona specifically comes down to the climate. With mild winters and long stretches of warm weather, cooking and entertaining outdoors is realistic for a much larger part of the year than it is in most of the country. An outdoor kitchen extends the usable living space of a home without the cost of a full home addition, which is part of why it consistently ranks near the top of upgrade requests.
Are Pools Still a Smart Investment for Arizona Backyards?
Financially, an in-ground pool addition has one of the lower cost recovery rates in the NAR and NALP report, estimated at 56 percent. But cost recovery is not the only number that matters, and the same report gave pools the highest possible Joy Score at 10. For homeowners who plan to stay in their home rather than sell right away, that distinction matters. A pool is less about resale math and more about daily quality of life, and in a state where summer temperatures regularly climb past 100 degrees, that daily value is significant.
Pool design has also evolved well past a basic rectangle in the ground. Vanishing edges, integrated spas, tanning ledges, and water features are now common requests, and pairing a pool with surrounding hardscape and shade structures turns it into a full backyard destination rather than an isolated feature.
There is also a health angle worth mentioning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts swimming as a moderate to vigorous aerobic activity that counts toward the recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise for adults, which gives a home pool a practical use well beyond entertaining.
What Backyard Features Give the Best Return on Investment?
If return on investment is the priority, the data points toward smaller, lower cost projects rather than big ticket items.
- Standard lawn care service had the highest cost recovery of any project in the report, at 217 percent
- Landscape maintenance followed at 104 percent
- An overall landscape upgrade and an outdoor kitchen tied at 100 percent recovery
That does not mean big projects are a poor decision. It means homeowners should be clear about their goal before choosing an upgrade.
- If the plan is to sell in the near future, landscaping and maintenance projects offer the strongest dollar for dollar return
- If the plan is to actually use and enjoy the space, pools, patios, and outdoor kitchens deliver the highest satisfaction, even though the financial recovery is lower
The climate is part of why Arizona homeowners see so much value from these upgrades regardless of the resale math. The Phoenix area experiences over 100 days a year with highs at or above 100 degrees, according to National Weather Service data reported by Fox Weather, which means shade, water, and evening lighting are not luxuries so much as they are what makes a backyard usable for most of the year.
How Are Landscape Lighting and Patios Changing Backyard Design?
Landscape lighting is a smaller investment, with a typical cost around $6,800, but it scored a perfect Joy Score of 10 in the NAR and NALP survey, the same as an in-ground pool. Lighting extends how long a backyard is usable each day, which matters a lot in Arizona where daytime heat pushes a lot of outdoor activity into the evening for several months of the year.
New patios followed closely with a Joy Score of 9.9 and a typical project cost of $10,500. Patios function as the connective tissue of an outdoor living space, tying together a pool, an outdoor kitchen, and landscaping into one cohesive area rather than a collection of separate features scattered across the yard.
What Should Arizona Homeowners Prioritize First?
For homeowners planning multiple outdoor living upgrades but starting with a limited budget, the data suggests a rough order of priority. Landscape lighting and a patio come first, since both deliver high satisfaction at a relatively lower cost and create the framework the rest of the space will build on. An outdoor kitchen or fire feature comes next, extending the usable time of the space. A pool, if it fits the budget, tends to be the upgrade families report enjoying the most, even though it carries the biggest price tag and the lowest financial recovery rate of the group.
Sequencing matters here too. Planning hardscape, lighting, and pool placement together from the start, rather than adding features one at a time over several years, tends to produce a more cohesive result and avoids the cost of redoing work later to accommodate a feature that was not part of the original plan.
How Did the Pandemic Change Which Outdoor Living Upgrades Homeowners Want?
The 2023 NAR and NALP report looked specifically at how demand shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results explain a lot about why outdoor living upgrades have stayed popular since. Among landscape professionals surveyed, 92 percent reported increased demand for outdoor features during the pandemic, and 79 percent said project scopes grew larger than what homeowners had requested before. Realtors cited the biggest jump in demand for in-ground pools, landscape maintenance, and new patios, all seeing a 17 percent increase.
That shift reflects something that has held true since: homeowners spending more time at home want their outdoor space to function like real living space, not just a yard. That trend has not reversed as life has returned to a more normal rhythm. If anything, it reset expectations for what a backyard should offer, and outdoor living upgrades have remained a priority for homeowners rather than a temporary pandemic era trend.
Do Commercial Properties Benefit From the Same Upgrades?
Outdoor living upgrades are not only a residential trend. Businesses, from office complexes to retail centers, have increasingly invested in landscaping and outdoor features to improve curb appeal and attract customers. A well maintained outdoor space signals professionalism and care to clients and visitors, in much the same way a homeowner’s yard shapes a first impression of the house.
For commercial properties, the priorities shift slightly. Low maintenance landscaping, durable hardscape that holds up to heavy foot traffic, and features that support gathering, like courtyards or outdoor seating areas, tend to matter more than a pool or an outdoor kitchen. But the underlying principle is the same as it is for a home: outdoor space that is planned intentionally gets used and appreciated far more than space that was left as an afterthought.
How Should You Plan Multiple Upgrades Without Overspending?
The biggest budgeting mistake homeowners make with outdoor living upgrades is treating each feature as a separate project instead of planning the whole backyard at once. Adding a pool one year, a patio the next, and an outdoor kitchen a few years after that often costs more in total than planning all three from the start, since later additions frequently require redoing hardscape, moving utility lines, or adjusting drainage that was never designed to accommodate the new feature.
A more cost effective approach is to plan the full vision upfront, even if construction happens in phases. That way, drainage, electrical, and gas lines get placed with future additions in mind, and the hardscape design accounts for where a future outdoor kitchen or fire feature will eventually go. This is another area where a design build approach helps, since one team managing the full plan can sequence phases in a way that avoids costly rework down the line.
Are Fire Features Worth Adding to a Backyard?
Fire features, whether a built in fire pit or a more elaborate fireplace, carry a typical cost of around $9,000 and a cost recovery estimate of 56 percent according to the NAR and NALP report, similar to a pool in terms of financial return. What the numbers do not fully capture is how a fire feature extends the usable hours of a backyard, especially in Arizona once the summer heat breaks and evenings cool off enough to sit outside comfortably.
Fire features also pair naturally with other outdoor living upgrades. A fire pit next to a patio, with landscape lighting nearby, creates a gathering space that gets used year round, not just during pool season. For homeowners who already have a pool and patio, a fire feature is often the next upgrade that rounds out the space rather than leaving it feeling unfinished once the sun goes down.
How Does Ventana Outdoor Build These Upgrades?
The projects that score highest in the NAR and NALP data, pools, outdoor kitchens, patios, and fire features, happen to be the same ones Ventana Outdoor has spent years building across Arizona, and the pattern in that data lines up with how these projects tend to work best in practice: as one connected space rather than a handful of separate purchases.
A custom kitchen goes in with professional grade appliances and stone finishes built for the local climate, not a generic layout dropped into whatever space is left. Fire and water features get built with masonry designed around the actual topography of the site. And because Ventana handles the electrical, gas, and plumbing lines for these features from the start, along with lighting and climate control, the finished result reads as part of the property rather than something added on after the fact.
Homeowners planning a pool as part of a larger upgrade can also review pool financing options to map out a budget before design work begins.
Choose the Upgrades That Fit Your Goals
The most popular outdoor living upgrades for Arizona homeowners right now are pools, outdoor kitchens, patios, and landscape lighting, and the data shows why. These are the projects that consistently score highest for homeowner satisfaction, even when the financial return varies. Arizona’s climate makes outdoor space genuinely usable for most of the year, so it makes sense that these upgrades are in such high demand.
If you are considering a backyard upgrade, whether that is a full outdoor living space, a new custom pool and spa, or a broader refresh, planning it as one connected project rather than a series of one off additions tends to give the best result. You can browse the full service list or schedule a consultation to talk through which upgrades make the most sense for your backyard.
