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Are you a home builder looking to increase project value while delivering pampering amenities that excite today’s wellness-minded homeowners? Steam showers and saunas represent a significant opportunity to boost your average project size, increase profit margins, and differentiate your services from competitors. Here we will explore how incorporating wellness features like steam and sauna installations create substantial ROI for home builders and contractors.
The Growing Wellness Real Estate Market
The wellness real estate market has exploded in recent years. People building new homes and those renovating are increasingly willing to invest in spa-like features that promote relaxation and comfort.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness real estate is the fastest-growing sector and surged $213 billion from 2019 to 2023, significantly outpacing the traditional construction sector.
This shift presents a golden opportunity for contractors. Steam showers and saunas sit at the perfect intersection of luxury, wellness, and practicality, making them ideal add-ons for new construction and even small-space renovation projects.
Financial Benefits of Including Steam and Sauna Installations
1. Substantial Increase in Project Value
Adding steam showers and sauna installations typically increases your project value depending on customization levels, materials, and features. This represents a significant boost to your bottom line from a single recommendation.
Customization options such as Chromotherapy, Aromatherapy, and Musictherapy, available with modern steam and sauna units, allow you to scale the offering based on client budget and preferences, providing flexibility while maintaining strong profit potential.
2. Higher Profit Margins
Wellness amenities like steam showers and saunas typically command higher profit than standard bathroom fixtures because homeowners view these as premium features worth investing in. There's generally less price sensitivity when these installations are framed as lifestyle enhancements, especially since the overall price increase is quite affordable.
Additionally, the specialized knowledge required for proper installation justifies premium pricing, allowing you to capture more value for your expertise in this niche area.
3. Reduced Client Acquisition Costs
Contractors specializing in wellness amenities often enjoy more referral business from satisfied people eager to show off their new home features. You'll develop an enhanced reputation as a forward-thinking contractor who offers modern amenities that stand out from basic renovations.
Practical Implementation Strategies
Bundling Approach
Rather than positioning steam showers or saunas as standalone options, consider bundling them with bathroom renovations or home additions. You might offer a premium package that combines a bathroom renovation plus steam shower integration or a primary suite upgrade that adds an adjoining sauna to the newly designed bedroom.
For clients renovating a home gym, suggest a recovery zone with sauna facilities to complete the space. This approach makes the additional investment feel more reasonable to clients while substantially increasing your project scope.
Phased Installation Planning
Even when clients aren't ready to commit to the full wellness suite initially, designing spaces with future steam or sauna installations in mind can create follow-up projects. Install proper electrical capacity and plumbing rough-ins during initial construction, and design architectural spaces that can later accommodate wellness features.
This approach allows you to return for the complete installation as a separate project, effectively creating two revenue opportunities from a single client relationship, while allowing homeowners to spread their investment out over time.
Selling the Benefits to Homeowners
The key to successfully incorporating steam and sauna installations is effectively communicating their value to homeowners. When discussing these amenities with clients, focus on the lifestyle enhancements they provide.
Modern homeowners increasingly see their homes as personal retreats and are willing to invest in features that elevate their daily experience. Steam showers and saunas create a luxury spa experience without leaving home, offering a daily wellness ritual that enhances quality of life.
Long-term Value
From a financial perspective, wellness features can increase home values by 31%, according to a Zillow survey, making them smart investments for homeowners. Modern steam and sauna units are also more energy efficient than constantly running hot baths, representing potential utility savings over time.
Many homeowners also value the convenience of having these amenities at home rather than paying for external spa services and memberships. Especially considering that GoodRX reports the average gym membership can cost between $40 to $70 a month.
Overcoming Common Objections
Space Requirements
When clients' express concerns about space limitations, inform them that modern steam shower units can be installed in spaces as small as 3x3 feet, while saunas come in a wide array of sizes to fit most homes.
The key is educating clients on space-efficient options that work within their floor plans. Many homeowners don't realize how feasible these installations can be, even in modest-sized homes.
Installation Complexity
Position your team as wellness installation specialists. Manufacturers, including MrSteam, recommend hiring professionals to handle the electrical, plumbing, ventilation, and moisture control requirements even though we offer installation guides.
By demonstrating your knowledge of the technical aspects, you'll help clients overcome hesitation about the complexity involved and justify your premium pricing.
Maintenance Concerns
Address maintenance worries by highlighting that today's steam and sauna systems are designed for easy maintenance with features such as MrSteams Autoflush and durable materials that resist moisture damage. Modern systems are far more user-friendly than older generations of this technology, requiring minimal upkeep while providing years of reliable service.
Getting Started: Practical Next Steps
Consider developing showcase examples that clients can experience, whether in your showroom or through virtual tours of completed projects. Visual examples significantly impact client decisions, especially for luxury amenities they may not have experienced before.
Creating tiered packages with wellness features at different price points makes these additions accessible to a broader range of clients while preserving your profit margins.
Documenting before/after transformations provides powerful visual evidence of the dramatic impact these installations can have on a space. These transformations serve as compelling sales tools when discussing possibilities with new clients.
When presenting options to clients, calculate and share the ROI using concrete numbers that demonstrate the value proposition in terms of lifestyle enhancement and potential property value increase.
In a construction market where differentiation is key, steam showers and saunas offer contractors a powerful way to increase project sizes while delivering genuine value to homeowners. By positioning yourself as a wellness-focused contractor and mastering the technical aspects of these installations, you can significantly boost your revenue per project while creating truly remarkable spaces that clients will enjoy for years to come.
The wellness real estate trend shows no signs of slowing down. Contractors who embrace these high-margin, high-satisfaction installations now will be well-positioned to capture this growing market segment, increase their average project size, and build a reputation for delivering premium features that improve clients' everyday lives.
