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Add Texture to GoogleFor a long time, the selling point of a luxury home was its view: a closely mowed green, the masts of a marina, or a man-made lake with a still surface. In Washington, a small town in Utah nestled southwest of Zion National Park, the 65 homes in a new development will overlook something else entirely. They will surround a nine-acre lagoon where the water never stands still—because waves are generated there. The concept has a name in real estate lingo—“surf-anchored real estate”—and a technology behind it: PerfectSwell®.
When the pool replaces the fairway
The idea boils down to a simple substitution. Where high-end and resort real estate once relied on primarily contemplative waterfront developments—golf courses, marinas, or passive bodies of water—a surf pool with dynamic waves, calibrated for high performance, is now being installed. The promise to residents is clear: ocean-caliber waves, every day, right at their doorstep, without relying on unpredictable swells or tidal schedules.
The business model follows the same logic of assurance. These projects combine private ownership with a short-term tourist rental program managed by the operator. The owner earns recurring income when they are not occupying the property and retains priority access to the lagoon when they are there. The lagoon becomes both a recreational facility and an asset that drives the entire operation.
Compressed Air and Gravity
The machine comes from Solana Beach, California. American Wave Machines (AWM) was founded there in 2000 by Bruce McFarland, who still serves as its chairman. Its process relies on a sequential pneumatic system: compressed air is injected into chambers, gravity does the rest, and no moving mechanical parts are submerged in the water. The design of these chambers and the wave profiles they produce are covered by more than 50 international patents. The company’s records specifically cite U.S. patents US 7,815,396, 8,434,966, RE47,023, and 10,145,135.
At the heart of the system is software. A feature called “Phased Array Control,” combined with an algorithm called “Temporal Distortion,” allows users to adjust the wave’s shape, size, speed, and camber from a digital console or a simple touchscreen device. The catalog features its classics, each with its own name: “The Drainer” for tubular breaks, “The Wedge Pop” and “The Highball” for sections ideal for aerial maneuvers, “Split Peaks” that split the peak in two, and gentler waves for beginners. AWM claims a rate of up to ten tubular waves per minute.
The company isn’t entering this market empty-handed. Waco Surf in Texas, formerly known as BSR Surf Resort, has been in operation since May 2018. In Japan, the Surf Stadium Japan in Shizunami, Makinohara, was built in 389 days and opened in 2021; teams from Japan and the United States trained there in preparation for the Olympic Games. In 2022, AWM reported more than four million surfing sessions recorded across all facilities equipped with its technology since 2007.
The Brazilian facility
However, it was in Brazil that surf real estate took shape. The JHSF Group operates PerfectSwell® there under an exclusive licensing partnership. In Porto Feliz, in the state of São Paulo, Boa Vista Village has been in operation since 2023. It is the world’s first high-end residential complex built around a PerfectSwell® pool: luxury residences, a Fasano hotel, and a spa overlooking the pool. The same group has developed a private urban club in São Paulo itself, the São Paulo Surf Club, equipped with the California-based technology.
The word “private” should be taken literally. Access conditions for non-residents remain subject to strict restrictions, and no pricing structure open to the public has been disclosed. These waves are earned through skill rather than an admission ticket.
A lagoon in the Utah desert
Zion Shores takes this concept a step further, in a setting that makes it almost provocative: a residential resort project in the middle of the desert. It is being developed by Alaia Development and Desert Lakes LLC, companies led by Cody Larkin. Spanning 30 acres—or about 12 hectares—Zion Shores will feature 65 waterfront properties, including 43 custom single-family homes and 22 townhouses, arranged around a nine-acre surf lagoon.
The body of water will feature a sixth-generation PerfectSwell® wave pool. At three acres, it is the largest AWM has designed to date. Two dynamic wave pools using UNIT Surf Pool technology will complement it. This raises the question that immediately comes to mind when considering such a project in the middle of the desert: water. The developers state that the water will be brackish and undrinkable, pumped from private underground aquifers located on the site, with no connection to the public drinking water system.
When it comes to marketing, discretion is the order of the day. The starting price for the single-family villas has not been made public. Sales are handled through authorized builders: Split Rock Custom Homes, Immaculate Homes, and Ember Home. Two ownership options are available: fractional ownership and full ownership, with the property zoned to allow short-term rentals. AWM has not disclosed the cost of installing a PerfectSwell® pool, stating that it varies depending on the surface area and civil engineering requirements.
The timeline, however, is known in its early stages. The cornerstone was laid in June 2025, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 20, 2025, and the opening is scheduled for late 2027. This final date remains an estimate. It depends on the progress of civil engineering and structural work and is not contractually binding regarding public access.
What Surfers Are Looking For
Behind the real estate marketing, the argument that convinces surfers is almost austere: repetition. In the ocean, no two waves are ever exactly alike. In a pool where every parameter is controlled, the same section of the wave repeats over and over, allowing surfers to break down a critical maneuver and practice it until they master it. This is particularly true for surfing above the lip—the famous “above the lip”—which the ocean doesn’t allow you to practice with such frequency.
AWM has carefully selected its endorsers. Miguel Pupo, a WSL elite competitor and winner of the 2026 Trestles Pro, is its official test rider and a member of the Boa Vista Village club. The young Cruz Dinofa embodies what the company calls the “wave pool generation”: he learned to surf as a child in PerfectSwell® pools. The company also highlights technical feedback from Albee Layer, an aerial surfing specialist, as well as Chippa Wilson and Mason Ho, whose input, in the company’s view, validates the authenticity of the water’s behavior.
From Hainan to Florida
The next showcase is in China. On Hainan Island, the Riyue Bay Surf Resort is home to the country’s first high-performance PerfectSwell® pool, built just a stone’s throw from the ocean surf spot at Riyue Bay. On November 13 and 14, 2026, it will host the Stab High aerial competition, sponsored by Monster Energy. This will be an opportunity to see the natural wave and its computer-controlled replica side by side.
The other front is legal. On October 1 or 2, 2026, American Wave Machines filed a patent infringement lawsuit against its competitor, WhiteWater West Industries, Ltd., in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The complaint targets WhiteWater’s Endless Surf system, which is currently being installed at a surf park construction site in Fellsmere, Florida. For now, these allegations are based solely on AWM’s complaint, and no judgment on the merits has been rendered.