When we moved to PA, I was surprised to find that a lot of housing stock in the area we wanted was only 1 bathroom, sometimes with an addition that included a powder room. IOW, that was the norm. In your situation, I'd ask the realtor about resale and what other houses are like in the area. Here (older suburb of Philadelphia) it would not hurt resale value.

You'll be fine with 1.5 baths. Maybe when your kids are teens, you might have to schedule who showers when, but having some of the people shower in the morning and some in the evening should work.

My parents had a tiny half bath in the walkout basement. They stole a bit of room from a nearby closet and put in a bath tub, but a show cubicle doesn't take much room. I did not notice that the closet was smaller and the having a shower in what became the guest room was really great.

If the space is there, you can always add a second bath down the road when you have more funds to do so. Potential is key.

Once when we were flipping a house, we took a poll of friends/family/co-workers. We asked, "What is the minimum amount of bathrooms you would have to have in a house?" Everyone said 1.5. I think the extra toilet is a must, but the extra shower is not make-or-break. If I loved this house, I'd deal with it.

Here in Australia it’s still quite unusual to have more than one bathroom, but it’s also still quite unusual to have the toilet in the bathroom. So even when someone is showering or bathing, others can use the toilet.

Personally if I loved the house, 1.5 bathrooms would not be an issue.

I bought a 1and 3/4 bath 1920s house 18 years ago before we had kids. The tiny downstairs bath has a tiny shower which we needed after starting a family for certain. It was fine for everyday living but my husband is English so we have extended family visiting and then it really was a big hassle.

Seven years ago we did the love it or list it list and decided to add a bath addition adjacent to the master bedroom. It was expensive but by then we had equity and more income and other homes in my area with three baths did not compare to our existing home. I have never regretted buying this house or waiting and spending on the bath addition.

If I loved the house I don't think I'd let it stop me from buying. We have 3.5 bathrooms and even though my kids have their own bathroom they still end up showering in our bathroom 100% of the time lol.

Houses are living, breathing entities. They change over time according to each family, current trends, ROI, etc. So in the big picture a 1920s home with 1.5 baths is also limited in it's closet space, probably many modern amenities and ways of living (e.g. laundry next to Master, usable basement height), insulation value, etc. That all can be changed. But it is not just a house, it is a home. And that starts with loving it, which you already do.

I would not let the absence of a second full bath dissuade me from buying a house I loved in the right neighborhood. The presence of multiple bathrooms in most homes is somewhat new and not often included in homes of that age. Circumstances change, and while you don't have cash on hand to add one now that opportunity could certainly come up when you really do need it.

I grew up in a family of 5 and one full bath. There was a shower only (not even a sink) in the downstairs laundry, a powder room on the upstairs bedrooms floor. I can only remember an argument or two with my sister over the tub, and we could easily find things to argue about in those years ;)

I raised my kids in a 2story historic house with one large full bathroom upstairs and 2 half baths downstairs. Family of 4. No problems. We all managed and I don’T ever recall all 3 bathrooms being used at the same time.

Buy the house. There is nothing like a solid beautiful old home.

We lived in a fantastic 1931 single bath plus powder room house from the time we married until both kids graduated from university. It was very well built with quality materials and had a double lot in an upscale neighborhood. The couple who bought it from us have 3 kids and it was a move up for them from a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house. 

When we went to sell, the house was such a beautiful house that only having one bath wasn't a major issue. It did help that the bathroom was very large with separate tub and shower and a door to the master bedroom.  In an area with higher house values, adding a bathroom might have been a reasonable upgrade but our house values were moderate. Adding a bathroom would probably only add a max of 20% of cost to the market value and we were used to the single bathroom so it wasn't an issue for us.

For me, 1.5 bathrooms would be a non-issue. So much so, that when I read the title of this thread, I thought it said:

Would you buy a restored 1920's home that's only 1.5 bedrooms?

And I was wondering how a half bedroom could be.

I wish many more old houses were restored rather than renovated.

You love the house, and it’s in your price range. Buy it. 🙂. You can get kids accustomed to quick showers, just lay down the law from the beginning. Maybe you can set up a timer on the hot water so it goes off after 5 minutes. Most families had 1 or 1.5 bathrooms when I was a kid, and we had big families.

We have a 1915 house that had only one 6'x8' bathroom when we bought it (as is pretty typical for houses of that age in our area). We did recently add a second bathroom since as our kids got to the tween years, there was more demand for the single bathroom. But that was 15 years after we bought the house, and honestly if we'd had an additional half bath, we probably wouldn't have needed to, since it's the toilet/sink that is in demand more than the shower. It also depends on where you live--we are in a very expensive area where moving to a bigger home is cost prohibitive, but in other parts of the country, we would just have moved when we hit the limits of a 2/1 home. If your bathroom is spacious enough, you may also be able to add a separate shower, which gives you a lot more flexibility in the same footprint.

Is it possible for the whole family to save for the bathroom addition?

If it ticks off all the other boxes... go for it! Sounds like a lovely place, and the family will pace themselves as you grow to having to share facilities without disruptions. A good thing to learn in life, anyway.

Non issue. We have two full and have never needed to use the extra bath or shower, just the toilet.