On Tuesday, DS News [1]reported that overall, homebuyers are not happy with the final appraisal of their homes, but interestingly, a recent study found that appraisers are often not that happy with their job. The March 2017 Appraiser Trends Study from the National Association of Realtors [2] (NAR) included a survey of over 2,000 appraisers, and found that many appraisers feel undertrained, or just dissatisfied.
Training appears to be an issue. According to the report, very few appraisers have trained newcomers, and over a third of those that do, do so for no pay. Another problem is that lenders do not want to accept the work of trainees.
Respondents to the survey listed salary/compensation as the top factor preventing entry into the field. Additionally, regulation proves to be a hindrance, as 65.3 percent of respondents say regulations are a hindrance to entering the appraisal field.
In the satisfaction survey, what seemed to bother appraisers the most is the increased use of data driven valuation models. 67.3 percent of those surveyed said that they were not satisfied with this practice. Additionally, 64.1 percent of responders were not satisfied with the increased use of appraiser scoring.
This increased regulation is the biggest reason for appraisers leaving the field. 74.9 percent of responders listed excessive regulation as an important reason for leaving or potentially leaving. 73.9 percent listed insufficient compensation as another important reason for leaving. Though complaints about training are high, only 13 percent of respondents listed issues related to training as an important reason for leaving. In fact, 38.4 percent say issues related to trainees were “not important” in their potential decision to leave.
“The work of an appraiser is indispensable to our industry. Appraisers provide the credible, outside opinion on a property value that agents, lenders, and ultimately the consumer depend on to guide them through a transaction,” said NAR President William E Brown. “If the regulatory burdens holding appraisers back go unaddressed, the challenge of providing that timely appraisal will only get worse. We have to work together as an industry to clear the way for appraisers to continue doing their good work while building an environment that encourages talented newcomers to get in the game.”