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Hello, dear reader! I hope you’re doing well! I took some time off from blogging to catch up on work and re-group mentally from the past few years of real estate craziness, culminating in a hectic last six months of an appraiser. I just needed a little breather.

Thank you for being here to read my article on bedroom requirements and the housing statistics for Cuyahoga County.

Before I share some housing stats, let’s start with a question I often get when giving office presentations about the appraisal process… What is required for a room to be a bedroom?

First, let’s talk for a minute about the origin of bedrooms.

ORIGINS OF A BEDROOM

In ancient times, people didn’t have separate bedrooms. Sleeping areas were ofter multi-purpose rooms. This was also true in medieval Europe, where sleeping areas were often communal.

However, in the Renaissance period and beyond, homes became more sophisticated, and privacy became more important to occupants. That’s when the concept of a bedroom really took off. In the 18th and 19th centuries, bedrooms became more common.

Today, most homes have bedrooms. The number of bedrooms desired can vary depending on market factors.

But what makes a room a bedroom? Are there any guidelines for what constitutes a bedroom? After all, a person can sleep in any room, right?

As the name suggests, a bedroom must be large enough for a bed. What size bed? There are some industry standards for bedroom size.

BEDROOM SQUARE FOOTAGE

I was recently interviewed on a podcast, and when asked this question, I accidentally said 700 sq. ft. without realizing it. I meant to say 70 square feet. As an appraiser, I just rounded way up! Just kidding. Don’t you hate it when what comes out differs from what’s in the brain? Unfortunately, it’s happening more as I get older. I digress.

According to the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC), the minimum required square footage is 70 square feet. It also states, “Habitable rooms must have a minimum horizontal dimension of seven feet in any direction.”

The Ohio Code (as of July 12th, 2024) states that the size of a bedroom in “residential care facilities” depends on the number of occupants. A single-occupancy bedroom must be at least 80 square feet, and a multiple-occupancy bedroom must be 70 square feet per person. This area does not include the closest areas. Some have applied that to residential properties in general.

DOORS AND WINDOWS

Industry standards also require a door to enter the room and at least one window or door to the exterior that can be used to escape in an emergency.

The window must be large enough for someone to go through it. That being said, we all come in different shapes and sizes. Is there a standard for window size? Yes!

According to the aforementioned International Residential Code (IRC), the minimum window size must have a width of 20” and a minimum opening height of 24”. The window must provide a “net clear opening of 5.7 square feet of clearance area for a person to escape. So, this is not just the size of the window. Instead, it’s the size of how much it opens. Furthermore, a window on the ground floor can have a minimum opening size of 5 Square feet.

The minimum sill height, the distance from the floor to the bottom of the window sill, is 44” above the floor.

In my area, especially with mid-century ranch-style homes, I have seen bedrooms with windows closer to the ceiling and higher than 44” from the floor. While that is the case, there is market acceptance for this window configuration.

CEILING HEIGHT

Is there a minimum ceiling height? It depends. ANSI STANDARDS Z765 requires a ceiling height of at least 7′ in at least 50% of the area. However, some older homes have a ceiling height of just under 7’.

Especially in Cape Cod and bungalow-style homes, would buyers not use a room as a bedroom just because the ceiling height was 6’10”?

Appraisers must consider this and value it accordingly. If the market views the room as a bedroom, and we can demonstrate this with other comparable sales, we must address this in our appraisals. But these situations can get tricky.

The other two sources cited do not state this requirement. Just because an area does not qualify as a finished living area with ANSI does not necessarily mean it cannot be valued as a bedroom or finished living area. An appraiser must also consider what most buyers require for a room to be used as a bedroom.

CLOSETS

Interestingly, none of these sources indicate that a closet is required for a room to be considered a bedroom. However, if buyers of a particular type of home expect a bedroom to have a closet, I would also consider this when appraising a property and deciding what to consider a room as.

Some older homes were built at a time when closets were not a bid deal. Some houses were not built with bedrooms.

In my experience, some lenders require a bedroom to have a closet. I think this is generally a reasonable expectation because most buyers usually expect this. But not always!

HEATING AND VENTILATION

A bedroom must have a permanent heat source so the area can be used comfortably all year. Granted, staying “comfortable” in summer is not always easy without air conditioning. But cooling is not a requirement for a living area. While cooling is not a requirement, proper ventilation is necessary for safety and comfort.

WHICH STANDARDS APPLY

It’s important to note that the IRC and other standards mentioned in this article may not apply in your area. I highly recommend researching your state and local jurisdiction’s requirements since they may differ.

Here’s a link to the IRC’s adoption-by-state list as of January 2024.

You can click on your state from that list to obtain more information.

At times, professional judgment also has to be used. Some things are unclear, and every situation is addressed in differing codes.

So, there ya have it. I hope you found this information helpful. That’s a wrap for bedroom talk.

On to some other things!

I’ve lived in Greater Cleveland longer than in Denver, CO. Cleveland feels like home. Except for the cloudy winter months, I love it here!

I moved to Cleveland in 1996 and started appraising in 1998. Over the years, I’ve seen the city change a lot.

Here’s a video about Cleveland’s history and current appearance. I enjoyed seeing the coverage of neighborhoods I’ve appraised for decades. Enjoy the tour!

Our Museum of Natural History was recently renovated. I’m planning on going soon! The Today Show gave a little preview. Check it out!

Now, let’s move on to some Greater Cleveland housing stats.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY HOUSING TRENDS

Here are some fresh stats for single-family homes in Cuyahoga County. Here are the key points from the data below:

• Median sales prices in February 2025 increased by approximately 16% year over year and are still trending higher.
• Median list prices in February of 2025 increased by approx. 16% year over year.
• On average, selling a home in February 2025 took 30 days, two days faster than in February 2024.
• On average, homes sell at 100% of their listing price.
• In February, there were 1,717 total active listings. To offer some perspective on how slow things are right now, in February 2020, we had 2,871 active listings. In February of this year, we had 86 more listings than in February 2024.
• In February, there were only 792 total pending sales, the lowest number in recent history. This is less than last February when there were 903 pending sales.

COOL PLACES IN THE CLEVELAND AREA

Here is a post with 15 cool places to enjoy the sunset in the Cleveland area.

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A post shared by Destination Cleveland (@thisiscle)

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Thanks for being here! I hope you found something in this post that put a smile on ya!

Have a great week!

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