How Many Windows Does the Average House Have?

By
Real Estate Agent with Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com 0480809

Last week, I read an article about things you should do before putting your house on the market. Most everything was basic stuff you hear all the time, but one thing caught my attention. It said to replace old windows. It's not something I hadn't heard before, but the article continued and said, "...you can often upgrade standard windows to vinyl for a reasonable $300 per window. The average home has 8 windows..."

replace window to sell houseThe part that caught my eye was not the $300 a window, which I do think is a high estimate, but that the "average" home has only 8 windows.  Where are these homes with 1 and 2 windows to offset all the homes with 30 or 40+ windows?  How could the average be 8? My house has 30 operable windows and about 10 that are inoperable, so that's 40 right there...

I decided to conduct my own unscientific study to get a more realistic average. I posted the question on my profile on Facebook, as well as a private group to see what kind of answers I got. Overall, I received 1 answer of 6 windows and 2 answers of 8 windows, though one of those said she had an additional large, inoperable window. Where were all the 1 or 2 window responses?

The most windows someone posted was 69 with a breakdown of 35 on the ground floor, 23 on the second floor, and 11 on the third floor. Not many houses have 3 floors, but it's still 58 windows if you ignore the third floor.

The unscientific average I came up with was 20.26 windows. This is no where near 8. If my average came in around 10 or 12, I would then think my sample was just a little unrepresentative of the average across the country. To come up with a number over 20, which is no where near 8, makes me think even more how ridiculous the report was that I read.

To replace 20+ windows at $300 a pop, we're now talking a little more than chump change. I can't say I would spend $12k to replace my 40 windows if I was going to sell. I think I would leave that up to the new homeowner, and make sure my house showed well and was priced right!

Post the number of windows you have and let's see if we get a different "average"...

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donna harris Realtor Austin TX blog

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com
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Copyright© 2011 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
*
How Many Windows Does the Average House Have? * was first published on donnahomesblog.com.

Comments (26)

Dawn Rueger
Beiser Realty - Oshkosh, WI

Hmmmm don't think I have ever counted my windows...My personal home is approx 2400 sq ft and was build in the before 1970 has 18. Even at 18 I can think of spaces to add windows to let more light in. 8 seems very "cave-like" to me.

Aug 18, 2011 10:18 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

John, Like a tankless water heater...

Lou, THanks.

Dawn, Along with wood paneling, those older homes liked it dark!

Aug 18, 2011 10:40 AM
Kay Van Kampen
RE/MAX Broker, RE/MAX - Springfield, MO
Realtor®, Springfield Mo Real Estate

Donna, I started counting some of the homes we have on the market.  15 would be a better average for some homes in our area.  Larger homes of course more than triple.

Aug 18, 2011 02:27 PM
George Scott Stevens
http://www.renaissancerealtygroup.net - Dallas, TX
Renaissance Realty Group Dallas, TX 214-458-1647

18 windows in my little 2300SF 3bdrm home, Donna.  And $300 per window for vinyl is JUUUUST a little high!

Aug 19, 2011 10:32 AM
Anonymous
tinagleisner

Donna, What a great question & one not many people are looking at because when I thought a bit more, it might be more advantageous to add a few windows or make some of them larger ... and this would provide more value when selling your house.

My sq ft is 2550, 4 floor condex with

  • 23 operable windows
  • 9 non-operating windows as lots of horizontal transom windows
  • 2 triple, sliding patio doors + one back door with top half glass
  • 34 total glass fixtures

 

Oct 04, 2011 12:26 AM
#11
Anonymous
Poly

1558 sq ft house, 4 bed, 3 bath with 7 windows plus 3 bathroom windows for a total of 10

Jan 29, 2016 04:20 AM
#12
Anonymous
Emilia

950 sq foot 2 bedroom with 8 windows here in the midwest.

May 15, 2016 01:38 AM
#13
Anonymous
Me

4 Windows upstairs, 6 down stairs, 3 in the basement. 7 Windows can open.

Aug 11, 2016 05:26 AM
#14
Anonymous
Casey

We have 3 floors with a total of 46 windows.

Dec 06, 2016 09:40 AM
#15
Anonymous
My home

10 Windows main floor and 6 downstairs

May 02, 2017 07:51 AM
#16
Anonymous
Data scientist

Your study was biased by your connections because A) they are in your networkB) they have the time to answer and count their windowsA lot of lowed class folk don't have time to do that... The study could have counted apartments too. The study could have been built for other intents and repurposed ( like some school study saying how much potential for growing window plants). 3rd graders do really sloppy statistics...I do agree that people who would spend in Windows would definitely not be apartment owners, so I do think the stage would be way higher

Aug 13, 2017 01:28 AM
#17
Anonymous
Data scientist

I do think the average would be higher

Aug 13, 2017 01:29 AM
#18
Anonymous
Kat

8 is the number of windows the average home supposedly has, it is not the average number of windows a home has.... or that’s what the company were claiming anyway, I have no idea whether the average home really has 8.

Nov 02, 2017 12:04 PM
#19
Anonymous
Jesse

The number is 14 I worked for a window company and was told in training the number was 14.

Feb 22, 2018 03:26 PM
#20
Anonymous
James

Here in NE, a 40' 4 bedroom colonial has 9 windows on the front alone. The end has 4 or 5, the back has 6 and the garage end has 3-4. Using the lower numbers you have 22. Harvey Building Products sells the average vinyl replacement window for around $300 plus the contractor gets another $200 to remove and replace and discard the old. At $500 per window, the cost would be $11,000. Not a lot for a $500,000 home but many sellers are unwilling to put that kind of money into a home that they are leaving. Spruced up kitchens and bathrooms sell homes faster.

Aug 06, 2018 06:02 AM
#21
Anonymous
Nicole

We have 20 windows and 4 exterior glass doors in a 1400 sq foot house with small 10x15 3 season room (with 7 windows and 1 glass door included in the above total) and a 600 sq foot garage with windows included in the total. We have spent $9000 in the last 5 years on vinyl high quality double hung windows / new doors in the house and garage (not including the sunroom). The sunroom quote was an additional $7000 :) We are in Indiana which may affect the cost since our cost of living is lower here. :) hope this all helps :)

Nov 20, 2018 02:55 AM
#22
Peter Richards
AraxWindows - Arlington, GA

It always depends. When I installed windows at araxwindows the average client who lives in his own house, had 10-15 windows. It's in Austin, Texas. So this is from my own experience.
But I can see from the comments above, that the number of windows is so different.

Apr 27, 2019 08:12 AM
Anonymous
Anon

39 windows. 3 floor colonial. Includes 2 basement windows. Norwood, Massachusetts.

Aug 09, 2019 09:24 PM
#24
Anonymous
tom

22 windows

Feb 26, 2020 06:02 PM
#25
Anonymous
Lexi

39 windows, plus half a dozen transoms that exist only on the interior. If you count those, it brings the total to 45 windows on an 1890's Victorian.8 seems implausible.

Aug 17, 2020 11:27 PM
#26