Speech by SMS Sun Xueling at the 32nd Pan Pacific Congress for Real Estate Appraisers, Valuers and Counsellors

Sep 30, 2025

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would first like to express my thanks to my ex-colleague Dr Amy Khor, who kindly invited me to this conference and gave me this opportunity to meet with everyone.

A very good morning to everyone. It is a great pleasure to join you at the 32nd Pan Pacific Congress of Real Estate Appraisers, Valuers and Counsellors. 

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the foreign delegates to Singapore. Just now, I listened intently to your itinerary for the rest of the day. You will be coming near my office, actually, at the URA. I think you can enjoy a very scrumptious meal at the Maxwell Centre. And I think after that, you will have a chance to visit the URA, which recently published our Draft Master Plan 2025, which showcases Singapore's urban development strategies for the next 10 to 15 years.

This is a very important development for us here in Singapore. We take land planning very seriously and it was not just the Government’s initiative to put together our draft masterplans – we have actually engaged 200,000 fellow citizens to arrive at these plans. Because land is obviously very scarce in Singapore, with many competing uses. Sometimes we have to think about building for housing, other times we have to look at environment sustainability, and many of you here are also from the commercial sector – how we build and have real estate set aside for commercial growth, economic growth, and of course, there are other segments of population. So, all these are competing uses for land. The Ministry of National Development – which I represent today – we see ourselves looking at development as well as stewardship of land resources in Singapore. We can only undertake this effectively and with everyone’s buy-in, if we do this process in partnership with our fellow citizens here in Singapore.

With here us today, we have real estate appraisers, valuers and counsellors – you are the professionals in the industry. We want to work with you as well, because how we arrive at the decisions, how we look at master planning, will also have to take into account your inputs. And how we manage land use effectively, also needs to take into account your experiences on the ground. 

Professionals like yourselves are an important segment of the real estate value chain. The specific theme for this year’s Congress is about sustainability practices in real estate valuation. In line with this, I will first touch on sustainability, and set out how we can work together, in terms of industry transformation through a process of partnership, technology adoption, as well as professional excellence development.

Embracing Challenges in Sustainability Practices

As we all know, climate change is at the forefront of global issues and this is particularly real, for small countries like Singapore. It is important that we ensure our cities are green, climate-resilient and liveable.

Singapore has made significant progress in greening our Built Environment.

The Singapore Green Building Masterplan aims to green 80% of our buildings by gross floor area by 2030. As of last year, we have achieved a milestone – we have greened 61% of our buildings. 

This year, we commemorate 20 years of Singapore’s green building journey. We are also celebrating our achievement in saving over 4 billion kilowatt-hours of energy annually.

Aside from better environmental outcomes, green buildings in Singapore have also proved their business value – they command higher rents of up to 12% compared to non-Green Mark certified buildings, and achieve consistently higher occupancy rates. I think this is something we have to advertise a little bit more, so that more come on board with us on this journey.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria now contribute significantly to the long-term value of properties. However, translating these sustainability goals into practical valuation methodologies remains a challenge for property valuation professionals. They need to assess green building features, energy efficiency, and environmental impacts.

Supporting Industry Transformation through Partnership, Technology and Professional Excellence

SISV as a key partner

This is where the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) play a very important role because you are a key partner in our drive towards sustainability.

One good example is SISV’s Valuation Standards and Practice Guidelines published in 2015, which included a dedicated chapter on green buildings. It gives valuers a common framework to include ESG considerations – such as energy and water efficiency - in their valuation assessments. This has helped valuers ensure that sustainable building features are properly valued in the market, and encourage more developers and owners to go green.

On the global front, I am pleased to hear that SISV will be hosting the World Association of Valuation Organisations (WAVO) Global Education Hub. The platform will provide valuable avenues for valuation and appraiser practitioners to upgrade their skills, and learn from international best practices.

Harnessing the power of technology

As Dr Lim mentioned earlier, as we embrace sustainability, we must also harness the power of technology. The real estate sector is experiencing significant changes through digitalisation and new technologies. Earlier this month, I had the honour and privilege of visiting several offices of our real estate agencies. In this journey of technology adoption, this we need to work hand in hand together.

I would like to applaud SISV's efforts in supporting its members in their digitalisation journey. And this can be done through the SISV digitalisation valuation platform. The platform will enable valuers and appraisers to better manage their business processes, as well as produce accurate, timely and comprehensive valuations for their clients.

The Government will continue supporting our local companies to transform digitally. For example, programmes such as the Productivity Solutions Grant and SMEs Go Digital initiative provide funding support and help firms harness digital solutions. I encourage our local firms to tap on these schemes.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often talked about. AI and machine learning will also offer new solutions that can further transform our work.

While the oversight of licensed valuers is still required for formal valuations, we are already seeing overseas and local developments in AI-powered technologies to estimate property valuation and very importantly, complement the work of valuers.

Here in Singapore, AI-powered platforms have been used to provide real-time, automated calculations using machine learning technology, demonstrating how quickly the industry is advancing. In particular, the Key Executive Officers of each organisation can not only look into how we are adopting AI, but really also talk to your employees to make sure that they are very assured in this AI adoption journey, to make sure they feel that they are empowered to learn, that the use of AI complements our work and it is not a substitute for them, and that we as human beings are capable of learning as well – not just machines and machine learning – but we can learn, adapt our work, so that we can use AI to best complement our work and increase our productively. Let us not see this as a zero-sum game.

Professional excellence

On that note, it is important for professionals to actively invest in professional development.

There are courses on real estate valuations, valuation methodologies and market analysis are offered by local Institutes of Higher Learning. The BCA Academy offers training in digitalisation and other critical transformative skillsets. The SISV Academy also provides certification courses and seminars for valuers and appraisers, conducted by professionals and veteran practitioners.

Professionals can tap on the support under SkillsFuture for eligible courses in their skills upgrading journey.

Conclusion

To conclude, the real estate sector is at an exciting turning point, with sustainability and new technologies bringing about new opportunities for the industry. Your work in valuation, sustainable building practices, and innovative technology will go a long way in shaping our cities into liveable and sustainable places.

Lastly, I would like to thank Dr Lim and the organising committee for their excellent work in bringing this Congress together. To all our participants today, I wish you a useful, engaging and fruitful experience. And to our foreign delegates, please enjoy Singapore during your stay this week, and we extend our warmest hospitality to you. Thank you.