While the average age of people in the home valuation field is north of 50, there are some features to the appraiser profession that might be well-suited for Millennials.
Appraisal Institute President Jim Amorin says excessive regulation is the No. 1 reason appraisers are leaving the industry, though decreased fees and increased expenses are also factors.
With typical appraisers in their mid-50s, he warned that “abysmally low”
new entrants into the appraisal business is a concern will leave an inadequate number of appraisers in the future.
“We’ve got to find a way to make the profession more attractive and lucrative so that technology doesn’t completely take over the valuation process,” Amorin was quoted as saying.
Amorin noted that any current appraiser shortages are
concentrated in rural areas, adding that what some see as a shortage in quantity is actually only fewer appraisers willing to work for low fees that haven’t kept up with inflation.
He was among panelists at
a property valuation forum held during the 2017 REALTORS Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, which
began on Monday and continues until Saturday in Washington. Other panelists included The Appraisal Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer David S. Bunton and Appraisal Subcommittee Executive Director James Park.
The National Association of REALTORS, which reported the panelists’ comments in a news release Wednesday, said that its research indicates that regulatory burdens, insufficient compensation and dissatisfaction in the career is leading to a shortage of appraisers.
But Park said that the number of active appraisers is proportionate to the current level of work compared to the early 2000s.
There was consensus, however, that more needs to be done to
keep appraisers in the profession and attract new talent.
Once source of new talent is the millennial generation — people who were born between the 1980s and the beginning of the new millennium.
Bunton indicated he’s hopeful an improving housing market will bring more people, including millennials, to the industry.
He presented an appraisal career as an attractive option for the more technologically adept, device-utilizing generation.
“If you’re a millennial, what’s not to like,” Bunton exclaimed. “You get to use technology, the hours are flexible and there’s always work.”
