Renovation cost index / Kuala Lumpur and Selangor
What it costs to renovate a home in TTDI and Bandar Utama
Two established neighbourhoods either side of the Federal Highway, full of houses their owners have lived in for years. What renovating mature stock actually costs — and why the two behave differently despite sitting minutes apart.
Across 14 published renovation records for Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bandar Utama, the median cost is RM131 per square foot, or RM300,000 for a whole home. TTDI runs a median of RM128 per square foot; Bandar Utama RM156. The most striking thing in the TTDI data is not the rate but the consistency — every priced record falls between RM250,000 and RM316,000.
Taman Tun Dr Ismail, the trendy spot in KL today
Every figure here is what somebody actually spent — published project records for these addresses, with the floor area they were spent on. Nothing on this page is a quote.
| Development | Built-up (sq ft) | Bed / bath | Spent per sq ft | Total spent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTDI Plaza1 record · Taman Tun Dr Ismail · 14 weeks on site | 1,800 | 3 / 3 | RM139 | RM250,000 |
| Sinaran TTDI1 record · Taman Tun Dr Ismail · 10 weeks on site | 1,800 | 4 / 3 | RM139 | RM250,000 |
| The Greens1 record · Taman Tun Dr Ismail · 21 weeks on site | 2,245 | 4 / 3 | RM134 | RM300,000 |
| Terrace landed3 records · Taman Tun Dr Ismail · 12–104 weeks on site | 2,350–4,840 | 3–7 / 3–6 | RM62–128 | RM300k–RM316k |
| Bungalow landed1 record · Taman Tun Dr Ismail · 36 weeks on site | 4,000 | 4 / 5 | RM70 | RM280,000 |
The budget barely moves. The house does. Seven priced records, all between RM250,000 and RM316,000 — a RM66,000 spread across homes running from 1,800 to 4,840 square feet. The largest house in the set was renovated at the lowest rate per square foot, over 104 weeks. That is what renovating to a figure rather than to a rate looks like, and it is worth knowing before you set your own.
Bandar Utama, counted separately
Minutes away across the Federal Highway, and in Selangor rather than Kuala Lumpur. Bandar Utama runs a higher median rate and a far wider spread than TTDI — the range here is nearly five times from bottom to top.
| Development | Built-up (sq ft) | Bed / bath | Spent per sq ft | Total spent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utamara1 record · Bandar Utama · 16 weeks on site | 1,500 | 3 / 2 | RM247 | RM370,000 |
| Terrace landed3 records · Bandar Utama · 8–16 weeks on site | 2,100–3,800 | 4 / 3–4 | RM80–214 | RM200k–RM630k |
| Bukit Utama 91 record · Bandar Utama · 14 weeks on site | 2,500 | 5 / 5 | RM156 | RM390,000 |
| Townhouse landed1 record · Bandar Utama · 5 weeks on site | 1,550 | 3 / 4 | RM55 | RM85,000 |
| 1 Bukit Utama1 record · Bandar Utama · 8 weeks on site | 1,900 | — | RM53 | RM100,000 |
The landed homes cost less per square foot than the condominiums — a median of RM92 against RM139, which is the reverse of most Kuala Lumpur addresses. In neighbourhoods this established, much of the recorded landed work is partial: opening up an older layout, rewiring, replumbing. The condominium work is more often a full fit-out of a newer, smaller unit, and full fit-outs cost more per foot than partial ones every time.
Four ways interior designers charge
Before you compare two quotes, work out which of these each one is. Three of the four move while your project is running.
Per square foot
A percentage of the build
One turnkey number
A fixed fee per room
Sundays in Bed
Same rooms. Any size. Same fee.
We are a residential interior design studio in Kuala Lumpur, and we charge a fixed fee for each room you want designed. Not a rate per square foot. Not a share of your build. A number you know before anything starts.
On mature stock that matters more than usual. Older houses give up surprises — wiring that has to come out, a wall that turns out to be doing work, a floor level that was never quite right. Those surprises change what your contractor charges you, at cost. They do not change what we charge you.
| Home | Rooms priced | Our design fee | Per sq ft |
|---|
Price your own home
Choose your building. Set the size and the rooms. This runs the same model we use in the studio — in your browser, sending nothing anywhere.
Want this run on your actual home?
Tell us your rooms, your level and your budget. You will get the same three ranges back — and an honest answer about which one your budget really reaches.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to renovate a house in TTDI or Bandar Utama?
Across 14 published records with both a budget and a floor area, the median is RM131 per square foot and RM300,000 for a whole home. TTDI runs a median of RM128 per square foot, Bandar Utama RM156. The two neighbourhoods behave quite differently despite sitting minutes apart.
Why is the TTDI spend so consistent?
Every priced TTDI record in this set falls between RM250,000 and RM316,000 — a RM66,000 spread across homes from 1,800 to 4,840 square feet. The budget barely moves while the house nearly triples. It suggests people here renovate to a figure rather than to a rate, and let the scope follow.
Why do the terraces cost less per square foot than the condominiums?
Landed homes here run a median of RM92 per square foot against RM139 for condominiums, which is the opposite of most areas. These are established neighbourhoods with mature housing stock, and much of the recorded landed work is partial — opening up a 1970s or 1990s layout rather than fitting out an empty shell.
How does Sundays in Bed charge?
A fixed fee per room, agreed before work begins. It does not move with your budget, your finish level, or the contractor's quote. Contractor works are quoted separately at cost, with no mark-up and no percentage of your build.
How long will the house be unusable?
The records here run from 5 weeks to 104, median 16. The long ones are older terraces being substantially rebuilt — the 104-week project was the largest house in the set at the lowest rate per square foot. On mature stock, programme length is driven by what you find behind the walls, not by floor area.
How this was built
- The recorded figures. 7 published project records for TTDI & Bandar Utama, each with both a stated renovation budget and a stated built-up area. 14 of them name their development, so only those appear in the table. The headline medians come from the 7 that are fit-outs priced as interior design alone. Every figure is as published — nothing rounded, inferred or filled in.
- What they include. These are self-reported by the firms that did the work, and the scope is not consistent between them. Some fold loose furniture into the total. A few bundle structural and architectural work, which lifts them above a straight fit-out. Read any single figure as indicative, not audited.
- Our own figures. Our design fee comes from the same costing engine as our quote tool, and the contractor-works ranges in the calculator come from published rate bands for paint, flooring, kitchen, wardrobes, electrical, plumbing and loose furnishing. Where we show our own completed projects, those are our records, not estimates.
- What a real quote would add. Ceiling height. Hacking and structural work. Waterproofing. Management rules on working hours and lift access. How much of the developer's original finish survives. None of that sits in a per-square-foot average, and all of it moves a real number.
- Why sample size is printed on every row. 7 priced records for TTDI & Bandar Utama proper is a thin sample, and only one address has more than one project behind it. Enough to place the market; not enough to quote an address-level rate, so we do not.
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