DC Region Has Highest Share of Spare Bedrooms in the Country

• July 19, 2017

by Nena Perry-Brown

A spare bedroom for rent in Mount Pleasant.

DC-area homes are apparently filled with spare bedrooms.

A report released today by Trulia estimates that the region has the greatest share of spare bedrooms out of the 25 largest metro areas nationwide. In using Census data to count households with at least two more bedrooms than there are individual occupants, the study found that 5.6 percent of households had a spare bedroom that could potentially be rented out, housing 133,685 individuals.

“Metros in Virginia and around the Washington area are the biggest places to look for empty nests,” the report stated. “Out of the 100 largest metros, Silver Spring, Md., ranked second and Washington fourth (but ranked first when only considering the top 25 rental markets). Nearby Richmond, Va., ranked fifth and Virginia Beach, Va., eighth for share of homes with available rooms.”

Assuming that a one-bedroom apartment in the region rents for $1,725 a month and an individual bedroom rents for $942, the report estimates that a landlord could bring in nearly $11,302 annually while the renter saved $9,396. It’s no wonder that there are new apps attempting to connect empty-nesters with millennials looking to save money on rent.

Trulia counts two extra bedrooms in a home as one spare room assuming that the other room may be used as a guest bedroom or office.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_region_has_highest_share_of_spare_bedrooms_in_the_country/12811