Usually our posts are more oriented toward YOU, the homeowner, attorney, accountant, real estate agent, etc. Since the year is drawing to a close, though, a little glance at our industry outlook might be interesting.
OPTIMISM: Although there have been fluctuations in the housing market over the last several years, the real estate appraisal outlook remains bright, suggesting optimism toward real estate in general. In fact, demand for valuation services has continued to climb over the last year, with the most marked increase coming in the field of residential valuation services. A whopping 95 per cent of residential appraisers claim that demand for their services has continued to rise, and the same is said by 49 per cent of commercial appraisers.
CAREERS: While both commercial and residential appraisers seem more reluctant to hire full or part time trainees, they both have continued to do so, with commercial appraisers hiring more trainees than residential ones. Future employment prospects for trainees in the valuation field seem to have hit a plateau, with approximately 10 to 20 percent in the residential and commercial fields respectively – being hired in the next year or two.
GROWTH AREAS: Anticipated areas for growth for commercial appraisers include:
Residential appraisers forecast their growth in:
The demand for summary appraisals appears to be on the increase for both commercial and residential appraisers; 44 per cent of commercial appraisers believe that there will be an increased demand for this sort of appraisal while 37 per cent of residential appraisers believe there will be an increase.
Limited/restricted use appraisals are anticipated to be on the rise, according to 33 per cent of commercial appraisers and 29 per cent of residential appraisers. 29 per cent of residential appraisers also estimated that desk review appraisals are on the upswing.
OVERALL DEMAND: These numbers alone could mean that residential appraisers will see an increasing demand for their services, and that is a promising insight, given the struggles the housing market has gone through over the last several years.
CONSULTING: It is also anticipated that more specialized valuation consulting will grow in popularity. For instance, valuation studies for litigation support may start being in hotter demand, according to 24 per cent of commercial appraisers. In addition, buyers may be looking for greater support for the sale decisions they may make, and it is important to note that buyers - especially investors - continue to want to ensure they are meeting their due diligence requirements prior to acquisition of new properties. Due diligence analysis in support of client acquisition or sales decisions is on the rise. Market studies may also be a high demand valuation consulting service as well, say 23 per cent of commercial appraisers surveyed.
Only 12 per cent of residential appraisers are anticipating that market studies will be a valuation consulting service in high demand. Marketability studies are anticipated by 13 per cent of residential appraisers.