Closer range to market value
The Treasury Department is adjusting its official land appraisal price to more closely hew to the present market value, says director-general Akkaruth Sandhyananda.
The department’s appraisal price is 30-40% lower than the present market price, and it wants to narrow the gap to 20-25% lower than the market price, he said.
The move benefits those wanting to place land plots as loan guarantees because they can obtain higher loan values from financial institutions, said Mr Akkaruth. However, land owners would be subject to higher annual land and building tax levies.
The narrower gap would also affect those selling or buying land as the land transfer fee would increase.
The international standard is an official land appraisal price 15% lower than the present market value, he said.
The department appraises land values every four years. The current rate applies through 2026, with a new rate effective from Jan 1, 2027 to Dec 31, 2030.
Provincial committees are tasked with appraising land prices in their provinces.
The current appraisal values put the highest average plot price in Bangkok at 1 million baht per square wah, while the lowest price in Bangkok is 500 baht per sq wah.
For the provinces, the highest price in Songkhla is 400,000 baht per sq wah, while the lowest is 35 baht per sq wah.
The highest land price in Chiang Mai is 250,000 baht per sq wah, and the lowest is 25 baht per sq wah.
Land prices in Surat Thani recorded the greatest change for the 2023-26 period, up 117% from the previous four-year measurement.
In the first quarter this year, transfers of vacant land rights nationwide tallied 115,000 plots, down from 123,000 year-on-year. These figures include only land with full ownership and Nor Sor Gor 3 certificates.
The Nor Sor Gor 3 certificate grants the legal right to possess and use a piece of land, but is not full freehold ownership.
Transfers of vacant land rights last year totalled 465,000 plots, according to the department.