A large percentage of appraisers are confident their future is bound to look brighter, according to a recent survey from the ""Appraisal Institute"":http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/, the largest professional association of real estate appraisers.
[IMAGE]Among the residential appraisers surveyed, 80 percent said their business outlook is either ""somewhat"" or ""very"" positive for the next one or two years, while 78 percent of commercial appraisers said the same. Additionally, 86 percent of residential appraisers and 55 percent of commercial appraisers said demand for their services is strong.
The survey, which was conducted in May and June, also revealed 95 percent of residential appraisers said there is more demand for their services compared to a year ago. For commercial appraisers, almost half (49 percent) said demand has risen over the last year.
While commercial appraisers haven't see demand rise as much compared to their residential counterparts, they expect this to change. Forty-five percent of commercial appraisers believe demand for their services will be greater in the next year or two compared to 32 percent of residential appraisers surveyed.
[COLUMN_BREAK]Although the outlook for services appears strong, the hiring of trainees is expected to remain weak, especially among residential appraisers. According to the institute, commercial appraisers account for less than one-third of practicing appraisers, yet they were much more active in hiring trainees.
Of the commercial appraisers surveyed, 49 percent said they employed one or more full-time appraiser trainees in the past 12 months compared to just 29 percent for residential appraisers. Among the residential appraisers who hire trainees, only 7 percent employ four or more trainees compared to 21 percent for commercial appraisers.
In addition, 21 percent of commercial appraisers said they would add full-time trainees in the future, while just 9 percent of residential appraisers said they would hire more trainees.
Overall, the majority of residential and commercial appraisers (67 and 59 percent, respectively) said the number of trainees retained will be unchanged in the next year or two.
Appraisers were also asked what they thought the top five areas of growth would be in the next year or two. Commercial appraisers expect mortgage lending appraisals; land valuation; litigation valuation/forensic appraisal; real estate consulting (fee-based); and right-of-way/easements to lead growth.
Residential appraisers also said the top area of growth would be mortgage-lending appraisals, followed by review appraisal services; real estate owned/foreclosures/short sales; litigation valuation/forensic appraisal; and land valuation.