Nearly two in three completed single-family homes in 2018 had two bathrooms, according to a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) analysis of Survey of Construction data. According to the NAHB's Eye on Housing blog, the share of completed homes with one bathroom or less, three bathrooms, and four bathrooms or more declined in 2018 when compared to 2017.
The share of new single-family homes started with 2 bathrooms increased and the share of new homes with 2 bathrooms has consistently exceeded the other bathrooms-per-unit categories.
The widespread decline in shares of bathrooms per unit is correlated with the increasing median sale and contract price per square foot; as building costs increase, builders find it more prudent to install new single-family homes with fewer bathrooms, typically in the starter market for first-time homebuyers.
A previous analysis on bathrooms and half-bathrooms in the Survey of Construction points to a correlation between more starter homes (for first-time home-buyers) constructed in a given year and fewer number of full bathrooms per unit. A closer look at the data shows that new single-family homes between 2,000 and 2,399 square feet have maintained more stable shares in the number of bathrooms per unit from 2017 to 2018 than any of the other sizes of the houses surveyed.
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