we bought a house with a shower-only in the master. Honestly, we didn't even notice at first! The bathroom was so large and well done we just overlooked it. By the time we realized it, we'd already fallen in love with the rest of the house and it was just one of those "oh well" items we compromised on.

That is all I have. All I will ever have, no room to enlarge. Just make it the best you can, as long as there is a tub elsewhere, should be OK.

It was a real drag on ours and that was 10 years ago. It was the one common complaint.

A RE agent that I know says that 10 years ago it was very important to have the big tub in the master, but that after living with them, many people realized that they rarely used the tub and that it was a dust catcher and waste of space. She says that it is not as important now, and that people like the big dual head showers. There will always be people who prefer baths to showers, and really need that tub, but for the most part I don't think a lack of a tub is a problem if you have a nice big shower.

When we bought our new house the master bathroom had a shower/tub combo and I tore it out and put in a nice big shower. There is a large claw-foot tub in the guest bathroom and that is enough for me. In my old house we had a huge jacuzzi tub in the master bath and I think I used it twice in three years. So, there might be buyers out there who want your exact set-up!

We just bought a new house with only a shower in the master bath. There is a tub in the hall bathroom. As long as you have one bathroom with a tub, I think you have no problem.
We also used to have a huge whirlpool tub in a previous house -- we probably used it two or three times a year, and would never bother to do a big tub in the master again.

pharaoh--rotflmao!!!

No tub in the main bathroom is a dealbreaker for me. Having a tub down the hall in the kid's bathroom is not a substitute.

This despite my taking showers more often than baths.

The Answer to your question depends on the Answer to the following question: WHO is your buyer? Oh -- you don't know yet? Then you don't know the answer to your question either.

My point is this: MOST people only rarely, if ever, use tubs anymore. They went out for the most part with outhouses and bringing in water from the pump-handle well outside! MOST people take showers 99% of the time -- especially if given the opportunity by having a nice, luxurious walk-in shower. Having a tub as well is like asking yourself, do I need a 2-seat sports car I would enjoy on the occasional weekend when it was warm and sunny and I had nothing else to do because the spouse and kids were away, or do I need a minivan/suv? If you can afford both and have the space -- go for it. Otherwise - choose!

Don't waste your money and space and design energy focusing on some outdated 1950's realtor's model of what a house "should" have -- focus on reality and what buyers really want. If you have a well designed, well apointed, roomy walk in shower, that will sway far more buyers in your direction than the absence of a tub will drive away.

IMHO

It often depends on the price class of your house and the age of the purchasers. As having back problems is a very common occurence after the age of 45-50 (sometimes younger), those people almost require a bath with jets, or at least a bath. And many women and quite a few men like the occassional soak.

For young people's starter homes (people from the age of 20-35) it probably isn't as big a deal, unless they already suffer from aches and pains that benefit from a good hot soaking.

At the very least it will cut down on the clientelle that would want to buy the house, unless you have an amazing kitchen that they feel they must have:-)

Greg

I would like to say Thank You for all the great responses! I am surveying the homes for sale now in our immediate area in what our selling range will be to see their master sizes/features AND getting a quote to see what it would cost to reinforce the large deck that is right outside the master bedroom (with a slider) to accommodate a hot tub!

As people get older they tend to look for an age in place home. We bought a home in a 55 and older community. I did a survey of the neighbors and ask a couple of realtors. No tub (as many get older have issues getting in and out of the tub). A bigger shower with grab bars a seat or a place to put a shower chair. The previous owners pointed to the whirlpool tub and said we NEVER used that. We are getting ready to to a master bath project and will enlarge our 3 by 3 shower and remove the tub . . . The only time I get in that tub is to step in it to open the window blinds and step back out. I have a sister that is a bath person . . , the second bath has a tub for her when she comes to visit.

We have had a walk-in (no door) shower for over twenty years and it is one of the must-have features for our new home. We recently had a market analysis on our current home and I specifically asked the realtor whether the fact that we don't have a bathtub in the master bath would be a negative when selling. She said, "Not at all! That's what people are looking for now." That is just one realtor's opinion in one market. I do believe that there will be some people who will reject the house because of the lack of a tub, but probably not enough to hinder the sale. Some won't like the granite in our kitchen or some other feature of the home---can't please everyone all the time. But the realtor seems to feel that the lack of a bathtub won't be a big issue.

I'm a Realtor, and have remodeled my bath with a huge shower and no tub. Ideally you need to have a tub somewhere in the house. You can even do a normal size jetted tub in a guest bath if you want high end.

I don't think it will hurt resale.