In "appraisal" land, adjustments will be made for an additional bath, but you won't get 'dinged' for smaller bedrooms, and your overall total sq foot will remain the same.

Of course, bathroom fitments drive most cost on the front end than the bedrooms, so...... your net profit on a resale might be the same.

Thanks jannicone for your explanation. If the price is the same for both layouts what you are saying is that the 4/2 is more likely to have a better resale than a 4/3?

Mark Bischak, Architect thanks for your suggestion. We are fine with either layout and bedroom sizes.

If the price is the same for both layouts, a house with more bathrooms will appraise higher than a house with fewer bathrooms and slightly larger bedrooms.

Appraisers find "comps" and make adjustments to come up with a "value".

They often take exterior measurements and calculate "overall" square footage. Then, they start looking at the similarities and differences in the comparable properties. In my area, for example, 2 identical houses, in the same neighborhood (think volume builder) and one has a fireplace - that one will appraise about $2500 higher than the one without. The square footage will show as "the same" - but the feature will increase value. Same with a bathroom - the square footage will be the same, but a 4/3 vs a 4/2 will probably appraise for $10K more. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms are key metrics in performing the valuation and this "low hanging fruit" in making the adjustment. Because appraisals drive so much of the process (bank loans, resale, etc) it's also another reason to always make an "office" contain a closet and an egress window so that it can be "coded" as a bedroom. Same for a bonus room, too.

This statement says nothing about livability / spaciousness, etc - it is strictly a statement of appraisal and resale.

Thanks jannicone for your clear explanation. It does make sense. You also answered another question I had been thinking about; the value of a fireplace :). To me, they just take up valuable wall space. But in our neighborhood, it is hard to find a house that doesn't have a one eventhough winters here are very mild.

A fireplace gives a room a focus - it's the main "statement" in a room. A living room without one is just a cereal box.

Fire belongs outside.

Value of a fireplace depends on location, yes? For example I hear that most houses in Hawaii don't have fireplaces.

If the price is the same for both layouts, a house with more bathrooms will appraise higher than a house with fewer bathrooms and slightly larger bedrooms.

How can they be the same price since bathrooms cost more than bedrooms? Bathrooms are some of the most expensive square footage in a house.

The PRICE can be the same, the COST will be different.

Personal opinion and nothing else:

Typically I'd say "make the bedrooms smaller -- I don't spend much time in there anyway"; however, in either situation, you're talking about small bedrooms -- is the master one of these small bedrooms? My kids have 12x12 rooms, and over the years my girls've had 1 twin ... 2 twins ... and 1 double ... but never anything bigger, and you're talking about smaller rooms!

Add-on question: What kind of closets do these bedrooms have? A bedroom with plenty of good storage can be smaller and still be comfortable, whereas if your closet is modest, you need space for larger dressers and other storage.

Having said that, if you're a typical 4-person family, I don't really see the point in having more than two bathrooms. They're expensive, high-maintenance rooms -- I want enough bathrooms for comfort, but I don't care to over-bath myself; I just don't enjoy cleaning toilets that much.

An outside-the-box thought: If you'd JUST build the third bathroom for resale, you might consider leaving that room "empty" /use it as storage ... and in the future you'd have the option of finishing it off yourself ... or it could be presented to future buyers as "a room that could be renovated into a bathroom". That would also allow the future buyers the option of using that small space as a pocket office, a craft room, or whatever ... if it suited their purposes better.

In conclusion, I suspect the 4/3 layout would be better for you at resale time ... but you're talking about trying to guess the mind of some unknown person, which is impossible. Build the one that'll suit your family best now.

Please please make the bedrooms larger!!!

I suspect there will be people who will buy the house for the third full bath. I also suspect there might be storage and furniture issues with such size bedrooms.

Smaller bedrooms can work fine for minimalists. For those who use them as home offices. They can be frustrating if one wants to store all the baby stuff in the room along with the baby. Or to have it do double duty as a child's bedroom AND their main playroom. Or as a teen's place to study in quiet and be their 'away' room.

It's all going to come down to personal preferences when you put the house on the market. *I* would rather have a little bit bigger rooms than a 3rd shower.