What the National Association of Realtors says about bathtubs and resale, and how it applies if you're converting one bathroom, not every one.
The general guidance
The National Association of Realtors has published commentary arguing that a home should keep at least one bathtub to stay appealing to the widest range of buyers. Appraiser Jonathan Miller frames a tub as one more amenity that widens a home's buyer pool, and stager Kristie Barnett puts it more bluntly: having no tub at all can hurt a sale to most buyers.[1]
The buyers most often named as wanting a tub are families with small children, who need it for bathing, and buyers focused on a soaking or spa-style routine.
Where the exceptions come in
The same reporting includes a counterpoint: designer Susan Brunstrum sold a home with no tub at all and didn't think it hurt the price, crediting well-finished showers instead. Some builders are also leaning that way for primary bathrooms, adding a tub only in a secondary bathroom for buyers who specifically want one.[1]
The practical reading is that losing your only tub in the house is the riskier move; converting a tub in a secondary bathroom while another stays elsewhere is a smaller bet.
How this should shape your decision
If your home has two or more bathrooms, converting the one you use least while leaving a tub in another bathroom follows the resale guidance directly.
If your home has only one bathroom, converting its only tub is the scenario the same research flags as the bigger resale risk. That doesn't mean don't do it. It means weigh how long you plan to stay against how much a future buyer pool might narrow.
What a tub actually costs you to keep
Keeping a tub isn't without trade-offs either. A tub takes up more floor area than many shower footprints, uses more water to fill, and can be harder to get in and out of for someone with limited mobility, which is exactly the tension this decision usually comes down to.
A secondary bathroom is the natural place to absorb that trade-off: it sees lighter, more occasional use, so a tub there serves the rare guest or the small child who needs one without asking your primary bathroom to do double duty.
Questions worth asking before you decide
How many bathrooms does the home have, and does at least one keep a tub after this project is done? If the answer is yes, the resale research we cite treats the conversion as a low-risk move.
Who uses this specific bathroom most, and does that person want a shower more than a tub? A conversion driven by daily use, not just style, tends to hold up better as a decision regardless of what a future buyer might prefer.
Questions people ask
Does a walk-in shower ever add resale value on its own?
The commentary we cite focuses on the risk of losing your last tub, not on showers adding value by themselves; a well-finished shower is generally treated as neutral to positive as long as a tub exists somewhere in the home.[1]
Does this guidance apply to every housing market equally?
The sourced commentary speaks in general terms about buyer preference, not market-by-market data, so treat it as a starting point rather than a local guarantee.
What if I'm converting because a tub is a fall risk, not a style choice?
That's a real, separate reason to convert regardless of resale. Our accessible-showers guide covers the dimensions worth asking for if that's your main driver.
Is a family with young children the only buyer type that wants a tub?
It's the group most consistently named in the commentary we cite, alongside buyers who specifically want a soaking tub, but buyer preference always varies by household, not just by category.[1]