Why do so many new builds have en-suites/lots of bathrooms?

[Bloodybrambles]

Just out of curiosity really. Growing up I don’t really remember them being much of a thing. Maybe large houses (4+ bedrooms) would have an en-suite off the master bedroom. I remember house hunting with my parents as a kid and a downstairs toilet was a deal breaker. Even then I don’t remember that many houses having en-suites/lots of bathrooms (I feel like we viewed hundreds of houses).

A few of my friends live in new builds and something I’ve noticed is a lot of bathrooms:bedroom/space. One friend has a five bed with five bathrooms! No wonder she has a cleaner…

My best friend has just bought his first house. It’s a cozy two bed, open plan downstairs with a WC, then the master bedroom with en suite and bedroom 2 (just about fit single bed + wardrobe) with the family bathroom opposite. He had been looking with his partner for months and just wanted something in budget, that had at least two bedrooms + parking.

It’s almost made me conscious that we’ve not future proofed with what we hope to be our family home. One family bathroom for three bedrooms (plus wc downstairs).

@Octavia64 the grd fl WC is a requirement for disabled access / lifetime homes

@Stirabout Exactly. They would have been better off having three decent(ish) size bedrooms, one en-suite to the main bedroom and then a family bathroom.

Yet that's the size of mine and it's laid out in a way it would be hellish to share
I dunno what they were thinking

I have 3 double wardrobes, a tall wide checks of drawers, long chest of drawers and a storage super king size bed in the master bedroom. All others easily fit a king sized bed, 2 large Pax wardrobes and a hemnes tall drawer unit (and a desk in DD’s bedroom as well).

Thanks @Nanny0gg I hadn't thought of that.
To be honest, iLs flat is much more suited to 2 professionals sharing that old people. They got one of the ensuites converted to a wet room and it's all in horrible pale blue - I can't help feeling I'm in a hospital sluice room when I use it!

This is mine

I don't believe that developers actually build the homes that people want. They build the homes that they can squeeze the maximum amount of profit out of.

Homes will always sell, regardless of floorplan/bedroom sizes as there isn't enough homes for everyone currently. As long as it isn't literally made of cardboard and string and you can get a bed in the room, it will sell.

Of course developers build what will sell, otherwise there’s no point.

Perhaps some people would prioritise an extra bathroom or shower room over a large bedroom. I wouldn’t want a house without a cloakroom on the ground floor and a bathroom and shower room upstairs.

You buy what suits your needs surely.

I don't believe that developers actually build the homes that people want. They build the homes that they can squeeze the maximum amount of profit out of.

I agree. My SiL has a new build "5 bedroom " house. The houses are so close together you can barely walk between them and apart from the main bedroom the rest are tiny. I'd rather have 3 decent sized bedrooms that some you can't swing a cat in.

We have a 3 bed house, 3 people living in it, and 3 toilets. I wouldn't be without our downstairs toilets (handy for guests and kids) and I think we'll appreciate the two bathrooms upstairs as our child gets older. My parents house only has one toilet and it is a pain in the arse

I don't get it, my friend has a new build and theres more toilets than bedrooms. I don't like ensuites anyway, especially if you share a room with someone i don't like listening to people pee in the night, and I don't like poop air being so close to my bed.

In the same breath, I grew up in a house with 1 bathroom and we all had the same poop schedule in the morning, and all showered in evening, so it didn't get annoying.

2 bathrooms for 4/5 people is ideal.

@Bloodybrambles En-suites and cloakrooms (even in small houses) seem to have become "aspirational" in very recent years. I've seen some tiny (less than 1000sq ft in total) houses online with both, and they're shoe-horned in at the expense of actual living space, which seems barmy IMO. Anyway, don't worry OP, there are hundreds of thousands of 3-bed/1 bathroom houses (like the type I grew up in) around - and because they're older (and better built) housing stock, you won't pay the "new build" premium that so many people seem happy to pay. 😃

Yeah we have a new build. It was 3 bed with family bathroom, ensuite and downstairs loo.
we then built 2 more bedrooms in loft and extra bathroom. So now we have 4 toilets (3 bathrooms and downstairs wc) for a 5 bed house. I can’t really imagine less - it works well for us

Downstairs WC has to be there on a new build to meet building regulations.

I lived in an apartment in Dubai that had 4 toilets and 4 bedrooms. It was a crazy waste of space. There was a toilet by the front door, and then family bathroom a few meters away down the hall. I would have preferred a storage cupboard. But you could see the TV when sat on the loo, which to be fair helped with potty training.
We now have a 4 bed, 1 bathroom and 1 downstairs loo. I’m thinking of turning the box room into an en-suite as the kids are getting bigger now and there’s more pressure on the bathroom in the mornings. The box room is mostly being used as a dumping ground, so it would be a better use of space.
growing up we only had one bathroom, but my parents had baths at night rather than a shower in the morning.

I've commented on ensuite threads numerous times over the years and my POV hasn't changed. Why do new builds squeeze in tiny boxy extra shower rooms with poor quality tiny shower cubicles into small bedrooms. Why would anyone want someone going to the loo within a few feet of where you sleep. I just don't get it.

We have two wash rooms, one shower room downstairs and one bath/shower room upstairs. Never needed anything more, none of the bedroom sizes are impacted by the bathrooms at all.

2bathrooms for a 2bed flat is mad but I don’t get the problem with your layout.
One bathroom is off the hall so also for visitors. You could just have this as a WC if you wanted ( and are allowed ) and enlarge the current en-suite.Move the shower to allow for a door in off the hall.

I think because a lot of adult children are staying at home a lot longer. We have a bathroom and a downstairs wc. Could really do with another shower room.

Yes, it’s baffling to me. I wish all bathrooms were off a corridor, not assigned to a bedroom. We don’t have a downstairs loo and recently looked at getting one put in. It was going to cost 20k! So that’s a no.

I find it really odd, particularly for new builds that are 2 beds. You have more bathrooms/toilets than bedrooms!
But I'm not personally a fan of ensuites, I find the light/noise disruptive in the night compared to a bathroom across the hall.
I think squeezing bathrooms into these houses often results in the loss of storage space etc as well which I find more practical for everyday living.
We have a downstairs loo but I never use it, I prefer to go upstairs to the family bathroom.
I imagine part of the feeling that its become essential is due to children staying at home longer and therefore more adults in a house sharing bathroom facilities.
I think it depends on the power of your boiler etc as well, ours can't cope with running 2 showers at a time, so there'd be no point adding in an ensuite if we can't actually use it at the same time imo.
My parents have a water tank so they can use 2 showers at once which makes it more functional, but most new builds with all the extra bathrooms don't have the space for the water tank so not sure how that all works.

I don't believe that developers actually build the homes that people want. They build the homes that they can squeeze the maximum amount of profit out of.

Right, that explains size and capacity on sites, but what is the benefit to developers to spend millions on bathrooms if people don't want them? They could just not build them and make more profit. So if you don't think it's because people want them, why do you think they do it?

@Stirabout I don't have an issue with it as I live alone but it would be awful to share with a lodger/flat mate mostly because the communal space is all very open with no privacy
The bathroom is also opposite the living room door and has no window so you can hear smell everything going on

Friends tend to use my en suite

With that layout, I would have preferred a cupboard instead of the ensuite. It doesn't look like you have any space to store things such as the vacuum cleaner, Christmas decorations, etc.

We have 5 bathrooms. My sister has 4, my parents have 4. I think it's great, I much prefer the idea of more bathrooms over a bigger room or a utility room.

This though is pandering to peoples wants
A detached will sell for more than a terrace. Personally it’s a waste of land and I’d rather see terraces being built, but people want to ‘say’ they live in a detached house.
Then 5 bedrooms again is pandering to those who want to ‘say’ there’s is a 5bed. A 3bed isn’t grand enough for people these days irrespective of whether they actually need 5 beds and whether they are big enough to swing a cat in anyway