Singaporean says, “It cost almost S$4,000 to renovate a 3-room flat in the 80s”

SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user posted a receipt from a construction firm for the cost of renovations from 1982, where the total shown was S$3,980.

The receipt came from a friend’s father, who wrote on r/Singapore on Friday (Oct 11).

This sparked a lively discussion among commenters, with one saying that S$3,980 in 1982 would be approximately around S$44,000 today.

The commenter wrote that the median wage in 1980 was S$400 a month. Today, it’s about 11 times more.

This aligns with the finance website Value Champion’s assessment earlier this year that the average cost of a moderate home renovation for a four-room HDB flat is about S$45,600, including labour and raw materials.

Renovation costs have nine major components: hacking, masonry, carpentry, plumbing, electrical works, painting, glass and aluminium works, cleaning and polishing, and appliances.

Property Guru said that this year, a three-room flat would cost between S$34,200 and S$52,100 to renovate, while a four-room flat would cost between S$52,500 and S$66,000.

Incidentally, renovations on a five-room flat are estimated to cost between S$62,000 and S$70,000. The post author commented that he’s already spent more than S$100,000 renovating his four-room flat.

However, a commenter in their post wrote that renovations to a three-room flat can cost less than S$44,000, depending on what people want done.

Of course, the older the HDB unit, the more renovations will be needed and the higher the cost.

Another agreed, writing that if the homeowner only spends S$5,000 on electrical works, S$7,000 on flooring, keeping the default HDB tiles for the toilet and kitchen, around S$15,000 for the “most simple carpentry works” and S$2,000 on paint, the total would be less than S$30,000.

“But your house looks like a sterile room,” they added.

A Reddit user chimed in that they spent about S$45,000 to renovate their four-room flat.

One commenter sarcastically commented that they were “Glad to know our purchasing power has not increased in 40 years despite annual boasting of GDP growth.”

Another replied that only housing has increased more than wages compared to 40 years ago, while food, cars, travel, and luxuries are all less expensive now.

However, a commenter disagreed that cars have gotten less expensive than they were four decades ago, largely due to the COE. /TISG

Read also: “Very dangerously done without considering other residents’ safety” — HDB unit’s ceiling badly damaged from neighbour’s renovation