Singapore’s building industry is finally putting a price on the benefits of green buildings with the introduction of a new valuation guideline announced on Friday.
The Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) and building regulator, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), announced the new guidelines on the final day of last week’s three-day International Green Building Conference at a breakfast briefing for 250 high-level professionals from the industry.
The new green building valuation guidelines will be included in a revised version of the SISV’s industry guide to be released next month and will provide information on how to evaluate the cost benefits of green features such as energy and water efficiency.
“The new valuation guideline assists to keep valuers up to date and ensures that they adopt a more consistent approach when recognising the full value of energy-efficient buildings,” said the head of Valuation Advisory Services for global property firm Jones Lang LaSalle, Tan Keng Chiam, in a statement.
Singapore’s property sector has had no standard way to reflect the impact of green building features on property values until now.
Recent studies, including one published last year by BCA and the National University of Singapore, have shown that renovating commercial buildings to make them more energy efficient leads to an increase in their asset value because of their lower operating expenses.
The SISV’s president of Valuation & General Practice, Doctor Lim Lan Yuan, said that the industry needed ways to accurately identify, evaluate and price such benefits because of the increasing number of green buildings on the market.
He noted that developers incurred higher costs when adding green features to buildings, saying, “The issue is whether these costs will be offset by improved occupancy, higher rents or savings in operating expenses associated with an energy-efficient green building.”
Of the many studies that have been done globally, “practically every one indicated an increase in sales premiums,” he said, citing one study of office buildings in the United States that found double digit increases in both rental prices and occupancy rates for energy-efficient buildings.
The SISV, which lists nearly 1,500 individual professionals on its website database, said it would provide workshops and updates to its members to improve their understanding of green building valuation. In addition, BCA will be providing training programmes for valuers.
BCA chief executive Dr John Keung said at the briefing that the valuation guidelines would have a big impact on valuers and building owners alike.
“It will also further drive home the message that green buildings can enhance asset value and make economic sense,” he added.
Eco-Business.com’s coverage of the International Green Building Conference 2012 is brought to you by City Developments Limited (CDL).
