A study conducted by the American Housing Survey and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), shows that adding a bathroom can increase your home’s value by 20%.

The study also concludes that remodelers can provide their clients with a precise estimate of how much bathrooms add to the value of their homes.The recently released data reveals that a half-bath adds approximately 10.5% to a suburban home’s value and a full bath adds about 20%.

The results also suggest that homeowners prefer a balance between the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Adding an extra bathroom increases the home’s value by a higher percentage when there are more bedrooms than baths. In a home that has only one bathroom, an additional half bath will increase the value of a standard two bedroom home by 11.5%, a three bedroom home by 12% and a four bedroom by 12.5%. When the number of bathrooms is approximately equal to the number of bedrooms, an additional half bath adds about 10% of the home’s value and converting a half bath to a full bath adds another 9%. So, one additional bathroom adds about 19% to the value.

According to Paul Emrath, NAHB economist, “One way to interpret this is that when there is an excess of bedrooms over bathrooms, an additional bathroom makes the bedroom more valuable.”

BATHROOM DESIGN TIPS

If you’re planning to stay in your home long term, we would recommend considering these

design features when remodeling your bathroom. These inexpensive design tips provide ease in transitioning your bathroom when the need arises.

1. Hand-held shower with a 6′ hose. The shower is mounted on a vertical grab bar.

2. Grab bars around the entire bathroom (visually integrated as trim).

3. Install off-set shower faucet.

4. 3/4″ plywood reinforcement on all bathroom walls.

5. Pressure reducing mix valves.

6. Install a low profile shower curb.

7. Install a seat in the shower.