Does removing a bathtub hurt home resale value?

It can — but only if it leaves the home with no tub at all. Real estate guidance from the National Association of Realtors is consistent: keep at least one bathtub, because many buyers, especially families with young children, expect one. If your home has another tub elsewhere, converting a bathroom to a walk-in shower rarely hurts value and often helps.

What adds more value — a walk-in shower or a bathtub?

The combination does. The strongest resale setup is at least one bathtub somewhere in the home plus an upgraded walk-in shower in the main or primary bath — that covers the widest range of buyers. A standalone walk-in shower in a home that still has a tub elsewhere is generally a value-add; removing the only tub is the risk.

Is a bathroom remodel worth it for resale?

Yes, when it's targeted. A midrange bathroom remodel recoups roughly 80% of its cost at resale — its strongest return in nearly two decades — and a tub-to-shower conversion in a home with two or more bathrooms typically returns about 65–80%. Practical, midrange upgrades beat luxury gut jobs on return almost every time.

We only have one bathroom — should we keep the tub?

Usually yes. In a one-bathroom home, the tub is the safer resale choice because it keeps families with young children in your buyer pool. If you strongly prefer a shower for daily life, a well-designed tub-shower combination or a large shower with a soaking option can be a middle path — we'll help you weigh it for your specific home and market.

Walk-In Shower vs. Bathtub: Resale Value

It's the bathroom question we hear more than any other: should we keep the tub, or go all-in on a walk-in shower?Almost everyone uses the shower daily and the tub approximately never — so ripping the tub out feels obvious. The resale answer is more nuanced, and getting it wrong can quietly shrink the pool of people who'll buy your home.

Here's the straight version, what the data says, and how to decide for your Lehigh Valley home.

Keep at least one bathtub in the house. Beyond that, the walk-in shower almost always wins.

The one rule worth following

Real estate guidance — including from the National Association of Realtors — lands in the same place: a home should keep at least one bathtub. Many buyers, especially families with young children, simply expect one, and the home with zero tubs gets crossed off their list before they ever tour it. Removing your only tub is the move that can cost you at resale.

Notice the wording: at least one. Not one per bathroom. That distinction is the whole decision.

If your home has more than one bathroom

This is most homes, and the answer here is easy: keep a tub in one bathroom (often the main or a kids' bath) and convert another — especially the primary — to a generous walk-in shower. In a home with two or more bathrooms, converting one to a shower rarely hurts value and frequently adds it, because you're giving buyers the best of both: a tub for resale flexibility and a modern shower for daily appeal.

That combination — one tub somewhere, one upgraded walk-in shower — is consistently the most marketable setup across the widest range of buyers.

If your home has only one bathroom

Common in our older Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton rowhomes and twins. Here the calculus flips: that single tub is doing resale duty for the whole house, so keeping a tub (or a well-designed tub-shower combination) is usually the safer investment. If you strongly prefer a shower for how you actually live, there are middle paths — we'll walk you through them honestly rather than talk you into the version that's easier to build.

What the return actually looks like

Bathrooms are good investments when the work is targeted rather than extravagant:

A midrange bathroom remodel recoups about 80% of its cost at resale — its strongest return in nearly twenty years.
A tub-to-shower conversion in a home with two or more bathrooms typically returns about 65–80%.
Targeted beats lavish: a focused, midrange refresh outperforms a luxury gut job on return in almost every market.

For local pricing, see our bathroom remodel cost guide and tub-to-shower conversion costs.

Value isn't only resale

One more thing worth saying: most people don't sell for years, and the value you get every single morning counts too. A walk-in shower you actually enjoy — and that's easier to step into as you age — is worth a great deal beyond the appraisal. If that's part of your thinking, our guide to tub-to-shower & aging in place covers how to do it right.

How we help you decide

We start from your home, not a sales script: how many bathrooms you have, where the tub should stay, how you live now, and how long you plan to stay. Then we design the bathroom that fits both your day-to-day and your eventual sale. Estimate your project with our cost calculator, see our bathroom remodeling work, or book a free in-home estimate.

Walk-In Shower vs. Bathtub: What Adds More Value?