I Want to Rip Out the Tub in My Bathroom. Will That Hurt Resale Value?

Abstract

I'd like to renovate the upstairs bathroom and replace the tub with a nice walk-in shower. "I've had clients that have turned down really, really nice houses because there is no bathtub," said Kevin McWilliams, an associate broker with Living New York. "It's really going to limit the buyer pool if they do not have a bathtub." A 2021 report by the National Association of Home Builders found that 74 percent of buyers wanted both a tub and a shower in the primary bathroom. If you plan to sell the house anytime soon, you'll be facing another challenge: The sales market is slow right now, so a house without a tub will be at a disadvantage. If you plan to stay for a while, the housing market may not matter - eventually, your house will accrue value regardless of what finishes you add. Ten years from now, "a house in Ridgewood is going to be worth a lot of money," whether it has a soaker tub or a walk-in shower, said Jonna Stark, an associate broker with Brown Harris Stevens in Long Island City, Queens. It's your money and you have to live in the house.