Trainees Hiring to Remain Weak
Appraiser Trainees Hiring to Remain Weak: AI Survey
Hiring of real estate appraiser trainees will remain weak for the next one to two years, according to an Appraisal Institute survey released July 17.
About one-fifth (21 percent) of commercial appraisers said they would add full-time trainees; fewer than one-tenth (9 percent) of residential appraisers said they would do so, according to the survey of U.S. real estate valuation professionals conducted in May and June. Commercial appraisers account for less than one-third of practicing U.S. appraisers.
According to the survey, 93 percent of the residential appraisers who employ trainees employ one to three; only 7 percent employ four or more. Comparatively, 21 percent of commercial appraisers who retain trainees employ four or more.
Additional survey results include:
- Forty-nine percent of commercial appraisers and 29 percent of residential appraisers said they employed one or more full-time appraiser trainees in the past 12 months.
- Strong majorities of commercial appraisers (75 percent) and residential appraisers (80 percent) said the number of trainees they retained in the past 12 months did not change. A total of 14 percent of commercial appraisers said the number of trainees retained increased over the past 12 months; only 5 percent of residential appraisers hired more trainees.
- Significant majorities of commercial appraisers (59 percent) and residential appraisers (67 percent) said the number of trainees retained in the next one to two years would not change. About one-fifth (20 percent) of commercial appraisers said they would decrease or were not sure how the number of trainees would change. Nearly one-fourth (24 percent) of residential appraisers were of the same opinion.
The online survey polled 591 real estate valuation professionals May 31-June 17. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
View the highlights of the survey results below.
Excerpt
Real Estate appraisers generally believe their local real estate markets are stronger now than a year ago – particularly local residential markets. Demand for real estate valuation services has increased markedly in the past 12 months especially for residential valuation services. Overall, appraisers have a positive outlook for their businesses because they are cautiously optimistic that demand for appraisal services will remain strong for the next one- to two-years. The survey findings show that opinions vary on the strength of the real estate market and direction of future demand for appraisal services depending on whether an appraiser focuses primarily on commercial or residential appraisals.
Outlook for Appraisal Services Demand
- Nearly one-half (46 percent) of commercial appraisers surveyed said their local commercial real estate market is strong. By comparison, a clear majority (84 percent) of residential appraisers surveyed had the same opinion about their local residential markets.
- A slight majority (55 percent) of commercial appraisers and an overwhelming majority (86 percent) of residential appraisers said demand for
appraisal services is strong.
View the highlights of the survey results below.
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“Hiring of real estate appraiser trainees will remain weak for the next one to two years…”
No, hiring of real estate appraiser trainees will remain weak until there is a financial incentive for appraisal business owners to hire them. As long as our clients put “No Trainees” on their engagement letters, hiring will remain slow.
Why is it that everyone is so obsessed with hiring trainees these days? Every article I read seems to be about re-engineering the appraisal profession or hiring new appraisers.
MAJOR HINT: It’s all about the fees (or lack thereof). If you pay them, they will come. Perhaps the Appraisal Institute should contract with Kevin Costner to do a national promotion. Obviously NOBODY gets the point to this day.
I currently have one trainee. And it’s a lot of work. I’ve talked with the AMCs and BREA “state office” about the lack of acceptance from lenders for trainee signatures… the suggestions given boil down to; place everything in an addendum as to what the trainee has contributed and this is acceptable to the State for trainee hours. The Trainee per the State of California, does not need to sign a report in order to receive credit.