How Much Does It Cost to Renovate a Condominium in 2022?

We crunched the numbers and spoke to an interior designer to find out more about the industry situation.

Increased health measures aside, if there’s one thing that COVID-19 has resulted in, it’s surely higher spending. From fuel pump prices to the cost of daily necessities, the pandemic has put pressure on almost every form of expenditure, which of course, includes home renovation.

In 2022, HDB flat homeowners can expect both higher prices and longer waiting times for their renovations due to reasons such as manpower shortages and rising material costs.

The same goes for condominium dwellers as well, so the big question is: how large are these increases exactly? To answer that, here are some estimated median renovation price figures for new and resale condos, plus industry insights on what to expect in the months to come.

How much can you expect new and resale condominium renovations to cost in 2022?

Comparing condominium renovation prices from past years and median price figures obtained from condo renovation projects finished in 2021, the estimated average costs of revamping new and resale condominiums are likely going to be higher in 2022.

In terms of median prices, homeowners can expect to spend roughly $30,000 to $40,000 on average to renovate a new condominium unit, whereas resale condo owners will likely have to fork out between $60,000 to $72,000 to give their properties a refresh.

Respectively, on a year-on-year basis, these estimated figures reflect an approximately 19% to 25% increase in cost for new condominium renovations and a 3% to 10% rise in home makeover prices for resale condo properties.

Larry Lim, co-founder of local design firm Summerhaus D’zign, believes that these increases are likely due to rising demand for already limited stocks of renovation components and materials.

“Organically, we’re seeing an increase in enquires for renovations, and also for work to be done on larger properties,” he says. “But what has increased as well, are prices for raw construction materials like cement and steel, which is used in rebar.”

Larry also shared that “even goods like hinges are also not so readily available as before” due to the supply issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic – which have in turn contributed to pricier condo renovations.

“We work with a cabinetry hardware brand whose products are quite popular in Singapore. They increased prices a fair bit last year, and I believe this same brand was also facing supply issues because stocks for certain items were distributed on a tight allocation basis,” he says.

How long will new and resale condominium renovations take in Singapore for 2022?

If you’re a condominium homeowner in Singapore, you can expect to wait longer for your renovation to be completed in 2022.

Estimates based on finished projects from last year suggest that the typical median wait time for new condominium renovations is 6 to 8 weeks. Whereas on average, resale condo revamps are likely to take 8 to 10 weeks to complete.

However, depending on factors like property size, scope of work, and restrictions set by a development’s Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST), the timeline for renovating your condo could end up being longer.

“The labour crunch is one reason (for longer renovations), but there are also other condo-specific factors that have exacerbated the situation,” says Larry. “For instance, condo managements are only allowing a maximum of 5 contractors to be on-site in accordance to current visitor rules, and there are also limits on work hours for noise prevention.”

“In a way, this is a double whammy. Because aside from smaller windows of time to work on site, team sizes are also now smaller. Tasks like plumbing installation, electrical wiring, and aircon duct installation now have to be completed separately, unlike in the past, where they could all be done concurrently once hacking work has ended.”

Higher prices and longer timelines aside, what other renovation challenges are there?

In our chat with Larry, he too highlighted a number of other renovation roadblocks that local condominium homeowners could possibly face this year. These include:

1. Unexpected shortages of materials

Due to a combination of supply squeezes and high demand, homeowners may have to make changes to their renovation material choices.

Says Larry: “I have encountered situations where my clients had pre-selected items like tiles and marble slabs, only to find that stocks are sold out when they’re finally ready to make the purchase.”

2. Longer waiting times and higher prices for imported custom furniture

Likewise, due to supply issues, Larry foresees homeowners facing higher prices and lengthier wait times for customised furnishings imported from European regions.

“Shipping costs have increased, while production has dropped due to factory closures,” he shares. “In the past, if you were to import a bespoke sofa from Italy, it would take about 3 months for it to arrive, or at most about 4 months during summer. But now, some of my clients are facing a 6-month wait.”

3. Possible COVID-19 restrictions

And finally, there’s no telling when COVID-19 restrictions might kick in again, if they do.

“There could be delays if the Government decides to reduce the number of household visitors or impose limits on the number of workers on-site,” says Larry.

“It’s hard to predict what might happen in this pandemic, but two things that homeowners can do are buffering more time for their renovations, and finding an interior designer whom they can trust. You can’t control prices or delays, but you can definitely be on the safe side.”

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