Housing demands have risen rapidly in Clark County, Washington and across the United States, and the ever-shrinking ranks of real estate appraisers are juggling an increased workload.
Appraiser Larry White, 45, gets up at 3 a.m. three times a week to get an early jump on emails and paperwork. He pays a neighbor to help, too, so he can spend more time for on-site visits, of which he makes about a dozen per week. He charges about $500 per appraisal.
White and his business, White’s Appraisals, are busier than ever. He and his colleagues in the world of appraising are in a sweet spot of high demand and fewer competitors. White is one of 153 appraisers working in Clark County, according to the National Appraiser Roster. He’s a certified appraiser, which has more relaxed requirements than a licensed appraiser, but he’s still booked out into November.
“I like being busy. I like feeling like I’m accomplishing something. It’s better than the alternative of not being busy,” White told The (Vancouver, Wash.) Columbian.
According to the Appraisal Institute, the number of appraisers has shrunk by 22 percent since the housing downturn of 2007. White remembers when business was slow. After a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps and working as an electrician, the Texas native became an appraiser right before the market downturn.
“It was tough then,” he told the newspaper. “An appraiser’s pace is a weatherglass for the housing market: when the housing market froze, appraisals went glacial. Times are good now, and he hates that he has to turn work away.
“We try not to give anybody preference or any companies that we’ve worked for 10 years preference. If we can do it, we can do it. If we can’t, we can’t,” White added.
White said he hasn’t raised rates, but it may not always be this way. Some appraisers, as with any business, will take advantage, but he said he hopes to build up his client base. But he agrees it’s a good time to be an appraiser.
“I think there are those appraisers who do take advantage,” he said. “The way I look at it, there are bad times and there are good times and we’re riding the good times.”