How much is a 2nd bathroom worth to a Tenant?

Do tenants care about having 2 bathrooms? Does it add much to the rental price?

Saw a great potential IP today and from my research it's the only 3,2,2 in a sea of 3,1,1 properties?

I'm thinking I might have found a niche, but wanted to run it by the brains trust first?

Does the second bathroom make a property more attractive and if so, by how much?

 

If it’s a family area good. If it’s an area with lots of students or young people you will struggle to avoid having rooms sublet. I have this issue, no matter how strict you are and how vigilant the agent is, they bloody try it like 90% of the time. It’s a freaking PITA. I’ve already evicted two tenants for this and potentially looking to do it a third time. But mine is a special case cause it’s right in the heart of where students like to live.

 

That is awesome intel. I didn't think about that...It is thankfully out of he student zone...but subletting will still be a risk. One that I didn't think about before. Thank you.

 

Yeah one might say who cares it’s still three tenants. Same rent (if not more). Who cares if they’re not related. But no, they never stop at 3. They end up with two or three per room. The wear and tear is brutal. God damn.

 

Second bathroom is huge when renting, yes.

Gives options - can share the property with another person/couple and each have their own space (room + bathroom).

Also handy for having family/guests stay.

 

Definitely a niche. I would go for it. A young family would love something like this. Mum has her own bathroom and not having to share with the kids. I live with my 9 year old son and i still dont share a bathroom with him. I always by past one bathroom properties. Hahah. Boys and toilets just dont mix!!!

 

Any opinion on 3 - 1.5 - 2?
As in 1 bathroom with toilet + another toilet in the laundry. Sort of student / young people area (paddington, QLD).

Is it worth squeezing a tiny shower in the laundry and move the washing machine outside?

 

I would say a second bathroom is always pretty valuable. I would personally bypass any property that didn't have a second bathroom.

@evalord I don't know the area, but I would say it's probably not worth spending the $$ to make a laundry a second bathroom. A tiny shower isn't very attractive IMO, so I don't think you'd add much if that were the case. If there's a way to configure it so it's not too squishy or you could covert it to an ensuite, then maybe.

 

I’m a big fan of 2 bathrooms - anyone with kids will value it for sure.

 

Second Bathroom AND second Garage are a huge bonus these days! Depending on the area, you might not be asking a lot more rent for the privilege of the extra amenities (so be careful how much extra you pay) but it will definitely make it much more attractive than what you describe as the majority of the competitors. This also gives you access to the best tenants faster.
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Hey @evalord, regarding your property in Paddington, I totally agree with @Lil Skater. You don't want to go to all the effort only to end up with a heavily compromised (i.e. unusable) bathroom and an unattractive external laundry. Personally, I highly value a second toilet, which you can often package around a laundry?

 

Hey Tom, the toilet is already in the laundry. I was wondering if the shower is worthwhile. Thanks for the advice, looks I'll stick to the existing arrangement. Builder reckons it's about 8k to do the work.

 

It’s definitely a niche to find a property with one bathroom with the capacity to add a second. I’ve just bypassed some fairly serious competition in Perth by buying a 4,1,3 and have everything in place to install a second bathroom at settlement.

We found that firstly, people weren’t even finding the property because, for reasons already listed above, most people are putting in 2+ bathrooms into their search of family demographic properties. This straight away reduced the competition for fantastic properties that was rampant in 4,2,2/3s. This gives an immediate advantage.

Secondly (and I believe more importantly), most people are buying up to their maximum deposit price and simply don’t have cash left over to pay $50k or so for an extension, even if they are finding the places. If you do, it means you can immediately turn that property into something more desirable and there is often quite a large gap between 1 and 2 bathroom places both in price and rent for the reasons listed above.

I think 1 bath is possibly acceptable if there is at least a separate toilet but it’s always preferable to have 2 bathrooms.

 

Here in Adelaide, properties with 2 bathrooms are actually kinda rare, so when they do come up my inbox explodes with enquiries.

 

In terms of capital gains I found this of interest:

Melbourne real estate: How much is a second bathroom worth? - realestate.com.au

 

We did this recently in one of our properties in Syd.

Cost about 25-30k and according to our PM, it added around $60-70 p/w in rental income (about 7-10% of total rent). In an area where families live, suburbia.

 

It should move faster in a slow market. A second bathroom is great for families or adults sharing a house, it makes life much more bearable. I think it would be fairly rare in Hobart now for houses to not have two bathrooms unless they are old post war houses.