Will the high resale flat prices that we have seen in recent years push up the value of BTO flats and impact the price that Singaporeans pay for these flats, or does HDB increase subsidies to completely offset the increase in land valuation due to this factor?
This was a question I asked Minister for National Development Desmond Lee today.
I had earlier asked a related question: What is the differential that the Chief Valuer applies to land used for public housing compared to that for private housing?
I also asked the Minister: How does the Government ensure in practice that the Chief Valuer is able to make his valuation decisions completely independently and that no one attempts to influence his decisions?
I asked this because the Chief Valuer’s decision on the valuation of a piece of land has a great impact on the amount that Singaporeans have to pay for their HDB flats. The current Chief Valuer is concurrently an Assistant Commissioner heading the Property Tax Division in the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
The Minister’s answers will be published in the Hansard.
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*4017. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for National Development in determining the value of land that will be used to build HDB BTO flats (a) what is the differential that the Chief Valuer applies to land used for public housing compared to that for private housing; and (b) whether the private housing land use comparables used to value land for HDB BTO flats are based on the records of the last transacted private residential land sold by the Government and private parties.
