American Homes May Have Hit “Peak” Guest Bedroom, Report Says

If your house has an extra bedroom — and I don’t just mean a hybrid Peloton storage space slash home office — you’re not alone. Far from it, in fact. As of 2023, American homes had 31.9 million extra bedrooms (yes, million!) hitting a 50-year peak, according to a survey conducted by Realtor.com.

For perspective, American homes in 1980 had 7 million extra bedrooms. And to clarify, homes with an extra bedroom, or an excess bedroom, as Realtor.com refers to them, are homes with more guest bedrooms than people to sleep in them. 

The Realtor.com report also found that over the years, the number of people living in a home have shrunk, while the number of bedrooms in a house have risen. Realtor.com also reports that the number of persons per household dipped from a high of 3.1 in 1970 to a low — a record low, at that — of 2.5 in 2023. Price and location, not surprisingly, also factor into the equation. Simply put, homeowners can afford more bedrooms in a less pricey area.

Housing markets with the smallest share of extra bedrooms:

1. Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, Florida

2. North Port/Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida

3. New York/Newark/Jersey City, New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania

4. Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim, California

5. New Haven/Milford, Connecticut

6. Worcester, Massachusetts-Connecticut

7. Stockton/Lodi, California

8. Bakersfield, California

9. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii

10. Providence/Warwick, Rhode Island

The markets with the greatest share of excess bedrooms are:

1. Ogden/Clearfield, Utah

2. Colorado Springs, Colorado

3. Salt Lake City, Utah

4. Memphis, Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas

5. Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Roswell, Georgia

6. Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio

7. Wichita, Kansas

8. Columbia, South Carolina

9. Charleston/North Charleston, North Carolina

10. Jackson, Mississippi

What could kill the guest bedroom?

Jay C. Rosen, a broker and manager at Since 1917 Realty and Property Management, isn’t quite sure that the trend of extra bedrooms will last.

“I feel the trend [is] smaller homes,” Rosen said. “They are not building McMansions anymore. Those ended about 10 years ago, and the trend now is going smaller.” The two main drivers at play for Rosen are “generational social behavior and economics.”

Rosen argues that baby boomers used to like entertaining at home, but Americans today don’t do so anymore. Why not? He cites the fact that families live further apart than ever, the advent of the internet, and the COVID-19 pandemic, to name a few causes.

In addition, Rosen says, “back in the day, when we visited [family or friends], we stayed with them. Not anymore. Now we have RVs, Airbnbs, and travel points. Everyone today wants their own place, not to be a guest in someone else’s. My parent’s guest rooms in the ’70s had multiple residents throughout the year. I have a guest room that no one has slept in — except my kids — since 2016!”

As for the economic element, Rosen doesn’t mince words. “Homes are just too expensive now for the average American to bother with extra space, and builders are responding to that trend,” he says. “Now, with interest rates above 6%, no one can afford big homes anymore.”

Intergenerational living may keep it going

Sherri Malone, a real estate agent at Home Malone Real Estate Coldwell Banker Realty, told me she doesn’t consider the trend cited by Realtor.com to be geographically isolated. In fact, she disagrees with Rosen altogether.

“I’m hearing and seeing [buyers want extra bedrooms] more and more,” she explains.

“With the price of homes steadily rising and the inventory staying low, for various reasons, the trend is set for multigenerational living, whether it’s renters or homebuyers. The cost to rent is very high as well. I’m also seeing kids living at home longer to save money for those precious few homes that are on the market.”

But will the trend hold? Will more homes be built with extra rooms or will buyers keep seeking the guest bedroom? Malone is clear that she does not “have a crystal ball.” Indeed, “just like any trend, the financial obstacles have to change to make the circumstances change.” Malone points to the shift away from open-concept homes — a trend real estate experts are clocking for 2025 — for more separate, specific-purpose rooms.

It would be interesting to see the results of an updated survey in a few years. Will the number of homes with excess bedrooms have continued its climb? Maybe, maybe not. The economy, the growing number of tiny homes, and massive changes to the real estate market through federal economic policy and climate events may change just about everything.

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