How Many Bathrooms in the Typical New Home?

The share of new single-family homes with three or four full bathrooms has increased in the last several years, according to the latest Survey of Construction data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

As National Association of Home Builders economist Carmel Ford reports in a recent Eye on Housing blog post, this trend may reflect the move by builders to focus on higher-end, larger homes in the post-recession period. However, recent data indicate that this trend started to reverse: the median square feet of new homes declined in the second quarter of 2016. Growth in the number of smaller homes, such as townhomes, may emerge going forward in response to first-time buyers returning to the market.

Of new single-family homes started in 2015, 4% have one or less full bathrooms, 59% have two full bathrooms, 27% have three full bathrooms, and 10% have four or more full bathrooms.

The Figure 1 chart below shows that from 2005 to 2015 the share of new homes with two full bathrooms or less edged downward while the percentage of new homes with three or four full bathrooms increased.

View the Eye on Housing blog post for more details.