Valuation Career Opportunities Abound, Appraisal Institute Tells Graduates

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May 23, 2019, 09:04 ET

CHICAGO, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As the number of real estate appraisers has decreased in recent years, rewarding career opportunities have opened for recent graduates, according to the nation's largest professional association of real estate appraisers.

"There are all sorts of benefits to a real estate valuation career," said Appraisal Institute President Stephen S. Wagner, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS. "There's a demand for your services, you control your work schedule, you can own a business, there's solid earning potential, and you'll find a variety of complex and unusual assignments."

The number of active real estate appraisers in the U.S. (as of Dec. 31, 2018) stood at 78,015, a decrease of 5% from year-end 2017. The average rate of decrease for the past five years has been approximately 2.6% annually. Declines are expected to continue due to retirements, fewer new people entering the valuation profession, economic factors, government regulation and greater use of data analysis technologies. That trend creates opportunities for the next generation of appraisers.

Appraisers play an essential role in the economy and the real estate industry by developing reliable and credible opinions of value for their clients. Appraisers offer risk mitigation to help ensure safety and soundness of the lending system. In addition to residential and commercial lending work, appraisers provide valuable services such as client counseling, litigation support, right-of-way and eminent domain work, taxation-related valuation and many other areas of specialization.

"It's essential for the valuation profession's future that we attract new and energized professionals to help meet client demand," Wagner said. "As the nation's largest professional association of real estate appraisers, the Appraisal Institute is dedicated to helping potential appraisers develop the skills they need to succeed in an ever-evolving and challenging field."

Appraisal Institute research shows that more than one-fifth of appraisers earn at least $150,000 annually; another nearly one-fourth make at least $100,000. AI research also shows that appraisers who have an Appraisal Institute designation earn an average of 26 percent more than their professional counterparts.

The Appraisal Institute has a master's degree program for graduate students pursuing an MSRE, MRED, or MBA with a concentration in real estate. The program provides an opportunity to obtain an Appraisal Institute MAI designation on an accelerated path. The Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation offers scholarships for undergraduates, graduates and minorities and women.

"The Appraisal Institute consistently and proactively pursues ways to increase enrollment in qualifying education and designation education courses," Wagner said. "By marketing our courses to colleges, we try to make our education more widely available and to increase the number of young professionals who want to become appraisers."

The Careers Building Communities website allows visitors to navigate through the scores of career paths across all sectors of real estate. The Appraisal Institute's section of the website outlines why students and others should consider a career as an appraiser. The website is a collaboration of 29 real estate industry organizations, representing more than 10 million jobs, that focuses on raising awareness and attracting diverse talent to the industry.

Learn more about starting a real estate valuation career on the Appraisal Institute's website.

See statistics about the U.S. valuation profession.

Stay connected with the latest news from the Appraisal Institute on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and our blog, Opinions of Value.

The Appraisal Institute is a global professional association of real estate appraisers, with nearly 18,000 professionals in almost 50 countries throughout the world. Its mission is to advance professionalism and ethics, global standards, methodologies, and practices through the professional development of property economics worldwide. Organized in 1932, the Appraisal Institute advocates equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in the appraisal profession and conducts its activities in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Individuals of the Appraisal Institute benefit from an array of professional education and advocacy programs, and may hold the prestigious MAI, SRPA, SRA, AI-GRS and AI-RRS designations. Learn more at www.appraisalinstitute.org.

SOURCE Appraisal Institute