Executive Summary

Cover of the Appraisal Process Report

In May 2023, NAR surveyed its members pertaining to data collectors in the appraisal process. The findings are as follows:

  • Sales agents accounted for the largest proportion, with 45% of participants holding this license. Brokers followed with 24%, and appraisal-certified professionals comprised 14% of the respondents. Broker-Associates and Appraisal Licensees accounted for 13% and two percent, respectively, while the remaining two percent reported holding other types of real estate licenses.
    Bar graph: Data collectors by type of license
  • 17% of the respondents have worked with data collectors for the evaluation process within the past month.
  • 14% of the respondents expressed concerns regarding the new procedure involving data collectors. Among them, 14% were concerned that the separation of data collectors from the appraisal process might negatively impact the appraisal results. Additionally, 13% expressed worries about the quality of the data collected, and 10% had concerns about the legal liability of having a data collector in their client’s homes.
    Bar graph: Appraisal data collection procedural concerns
  • The survey findings indicate that 30% of respondents reported that a data collector had given them the impression that they were the appraiser or had a role other than merely collecting property data.
  • 51% of respondents expressed safety concerns with the data collection process.
  • The survey showed varied perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the current appraisal process that involves data collectors gathering property data. Respondents had differing views, with some finding it very ineffective (40%), others neutral (36%), and some considering it somewhat ineffective (14%).
  • 65% of respondents expressed concerns regarding the data collected and data privacy.
    Bar graph: Specific concerns between appraisers and data collectors
  • 63% of the participants stated that they were not made aware of any third-party privacy policies or disclosures during their experience with data collection.
  • According to the survey responses, the majority of participants (76%) perceive the quality of property data collected by data collectors to be lower than that collected by appraisers themselves. Conversely, 23% of respondents believe that the quality of data collected by data collectors is comparable to that of appraisers.

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