Like other industries whose fortunes are yoked to the health of the ailing housing market, swimming pool construction has suffered dramatic declines in the past two years. The number of pools built nationwide this year will amount to about half the production of 2005.
Pool Corp. of Covington has endured the decline without significant erosion to its bottom line because it derives much of its revenue from maintenance and repair. But the swimming pool supply distributor has also tried to sustain the construction side of its business by starting an in-house brokerage, Pool Corp. Financial Mortgage, to connect potential pool buyers with loans at a time when many banks are wary of extending credit for such projects.
Pool's executives blame the fall-off in new construction largely on the drought in the credit markets. During the real estate boom, consumers often borrowed against the rising value of their homes to finance major improvements like new swimming pools. Pool's chief executive told investors in New York last month that home equity loans all but vanished as values caved and banks started to view housing as fool's gold.
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