Home Insurance

Average Cost of Home Contents in Singapore 2024

To help you get a rough idea of what your home contents and furnishings might cost, we've put together an extensive list of what Singaporeans typically keep in their homes. Below we discuss our estimates of home content values, as well as some important factors that can significantly change their costs. You can use our research to learn how much you can expect to spend to fill your home, as well as to estimate how much home contents coverage you might need.

Table of Contents

Average Cost of Home Contents

We estimate that the average cost of home contents is around S$30,000 for a typical 4-room HDB flat in Singapore. A 4-room property was used as the basis of our calculation because it represents the most popular type of housing in Singapore. In order to reflect an average person's budget, we used standard-quality items and excluded designer brands and commodities that are difficult to buy in Singapore. We looked at Ikea, Shoppee and Qoo10 for our affordable furniture calculations and Crate & Barrel, Taylor B. Design and Grey & Sanders for higher-end options.

Cost by Content TypeBudgetMid-RangeHigh-EndNote
FurnitureS$4,226S$11,352S$32,879Depends on size of home and decoration style
ElectronicsS$2,766S$4,054S$10,430Includes air conditioner set of 3 indoor units
Kitchen AppliancesS$628S$2,413S$7,162Includes groceries & kitchen electronics (fridge, microwave, etc.)
Valuables & Personal ItemsS$6,480S$10,800S$16,250May vary significantly
Laundry & Sanitary EquipmentS$771S$1,201S$3,677
TotalS$14,871S$29,820S$70,399

While we think S$30,000 is typical for the total value of belongings, home size and income level are important factors that can determine the value of items in a household. For example, a low-income household may choose budget options in the "low" tier, while a high-income household may prefer options that are even more expensive than the ones listed here. Furthermore, other households may prefer to save on certain items while splurging on others.

Therefore, please use this as a reference point to guide your decision process as you are shopping for new furnishings for your home.

Breakdown of Major Cost Items: Furniture, Electronics, Appliances

The sheer costs of expensive household items like TV and certain furniture make high-cost belongings an important factor for determining your total budget. For example, a sofa can cost as low as S$200, but can go up to five figures if you choose to buy some exclusive selections imported from overseas. To help you better plan your spending around these high-cost items, below we show a more detailed overview of some of the major cost home contents.

PriceLow-endStandardHigh-endLuxury options
Bedframe (King or Queen)S$100S$500S$900Natural wood, marble, bed with storage
MattressS$99S$500S$700Dual coil, memory foam, heated
Dining TableS$125S$530S$3,900Designer brand, natural wood
SofaS$400S$1,100S$3,500Handcrafted, Designer
TelevisionS$250S$410S$2,0004K Ultra HD, curved, smart TV, OLED
FridgeS$400S$700S$2,3006-door, side-by-side, 500L and above
Air ConditionerS$2,100S$2,600S$4,0004+ indoor units, Japan made
Washer/DryerS$800S$1,200S$3,600Front load, dryer, 9kg load and above

Valuables and Personal Items

While we included a general estimate of valuables and personal items in our average cost calculation, it is difficult to designate an accurate representation of their values because each household has different tastes and income levels. For instance, a sports mania household might own expensive outdoor equipment (bicycles, camping equipment, etc.) that cost thousands of dollars. If you are interested in fashion, you might own pieces of clothes that cost more than that. To help you sort through the various valuable items you might have, below we show a list of items whose values may differ significantly from household to household.

Valuables and Personal Items
JeweleryWatchesPaintingsPhotographs/Albums
Bags/WalletsClothes/FootwearChina and CabinetsMusical Instruments
BicyclesLiquorCollectionsPortable Devices

Advice on Calculating Contents Value

When attempting to estimate the value of your home furnishings and contents, it is impossible to exhaustively calculate every single item.

Instead, we recommend that you start with the most expensive components of your home, most of which we've discussed above. Starting from these big items will help you roughly gauge the minimum required level of expenditure you need to fill your home. You should also be careful not to over or underestimate the contents of your home. If you over estimate, you may end up paying unnecessarily high premiums, and if you underestimate you may end up with coverage gaps.

Finally, if you have extremely valuable items you are thinking of insuring, you should read the policy wordings to see if the insurance company covers them in the first place. If the company doesn't, you should report the total value of your home excluding the value of those items, and consider getting a separate articles insurance policy.

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Kyuhoon Kim

Kyuhoon is a Research Analyst at ValueChampion, focusing on Korean insurance. He previously studied Economics and Computer Science at Vanderbilt University.