SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Although your home might feel tight this holiday season, nationally, the number of extra bedrooms, defined as a bedroom that is in excess of the number of persons in the home, plus one to account for an office, has reached the highest levels in Census record history, according to a new report from Realtor.com® released today.
In 2023, the number of extra bedrooms in the U.S. reached 31.9 million, up from 31.3 million the year prior and over four times the 7 million extra bedrooms the country had back in 1980. Additionally, taking into account that the U.S. housing stock is as large as it has ever been, the analysis found the share of all bedrooms that could be considered an “extra” bedroom has also reached a record high of 8.8%. This is up from the 8.7% in the year prior and over twice the 3.5% rate in 1980. The record–high number and share of excess bedrooms in the U.S. is driven by both an increase in the number of bedrooms per home and a decline in the number of persons per household.
“During the holidays we often feel the need for more room, especially for guests; however, we are in a golden age of extra bedrooms,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist, Realtor.com. “Since the 1980s we have seen the average number of bedrooms per home increase, and maybe more importantly, the number of persons per household has declined, creating an environment where we see both the largest number of extra bedrooms and the largest share of extra bedrooms, even with Americans using spare rooms as offices.”
Are houses getting bigger?
Not exactly. While there has been an increase in the average number of bedrooms per home over the past 50 years, growing from an average of 2.5 rooms in 1970 to 2.8 rooms in 2023, there has been no change over the past 10 years when the average was also 2.8 rooms per home in 2013. The more significant factor is a declining number of persons per household, falling from a high of 3.1 persons per household in 1970 to a record low of 2.5 persons per household in 2023.
Extra bedrooms are more common in the Mountain West and South
The trend of excess bedrooms is most pronounced in the Mountain West and South, where land is plentiful and homes are often built with more square footage and larger floor plans. Homes in densely populated urban areas where land is scarcer and more costly tend to have fewer extra bedrooms, reflecting the higher demand for space-efficient living and affordability.
The 10 markets with the highest share of total bedrooms that could be considered excess are:
1. Ogden, Utah (12.2%)
2. Colorado Springs, Colo. (12.1%)
3. Salt Lake City, Utah (12%)
4. Memphis, Tenn. (11.8%)
5. Atlanta, Ga. (11.6%)
6. Cleveland, Ohio (11.3%)
7. Wichita, Kansas (11.3%)
8. Columbia, S.C. (10.8%)
9. Charleston, S.C. (10.7%)
10. Jackson, Miss. (10.7%)
The 10 markets with the lowest share of total bedrooms that could be considered excess are:
1. Miami, Fla. (5.9%)
2. Sarasota, Fla. (6.4%)
3. New York, N.Y. (6.5%)
4. Los Angeles, Calif. (6.6%)
5. New Haven, Conn. (6.7%)
6. Worcester, Mass (6.9%)
7. Stockton, Calif. (6.9%)
8. Bakersfield, Calif (7%)
9. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii (7%)
10. Providence, R.I (7.1%)
Source: Realtor.com
© 2024 Florida Realtors®
