Land prices in Klong San and Thon Buri are expected to soar 30-40% in the latest official valuation survey thanks to new mass-transit routes, according to Treasury Department officials. Klaew Thongsom, head of the Treasury Department's property valuation bureau, said out of 13 districts under review, Klong San and Thon Buri are expected to show the highest rise in official valuations, due to increased interest from developers and homebuyers in anticipation of the construction of new mass transit routes.

Prices are now at 150,000 to 200,000 baht per square wah, or 30-40% higher than the last valuation by the department. Retail prices for condominiums and detached homes in the area have also risen with higher land prices.

The Treasury Department is responsible for establishing official valuation prices throughout the country, which are then used as a benchmark for setting land and transfer taxes.

Land valuations are reassessed on a regular basis, and take into consideration actual market transaction prices in the area.

Mr Klaew said the department was drafting guidelines for assessing the value of buildings to help calculate tax charges following recent changes to the land and building tax.

The department already has guidelines to assess values for 61 types of buildings and properties but needs to add templates for fixtures such as cellular phone transmitters or antennas in tax calculations.

Prasit Suebchana, deputy director-general of the Treasury Department, said the department plans to revalue 447,000 properties in 13 districts in Bangkok in 2009.

The valuation comes after the department completed assessments for nine Bangkok districts last year.

The Treasury Department will also begin assessments on a plot-by-plot basis in 14 provinces nationwide this year, including Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Chiang Rai and Nakhon Phanom.

The department expects to complete assessments on 4.72 million plots nationwide this year, 5.9 million in 2010 and 15 million in 2011, with an ultimate goal of making individual plot assessments for all the country's 30 million defined properties.

source : www.bangkokpost.com