The truth is that for the last five years, there has been very little new blood entering the industry. For those who continued practicing, their reality has been frozen or falling earnings and an increasingly tough job – as surveying businesses and lenders alike sought to ‘audit out’ any potential risks associated with valuation reports, meaning that the admin associated with the job has steadily escalated.
There have been broadly two categories of survivors – those who have worked for the large ‘corporate’ firms and those who have moved sideways into private practice. Undoubtedly both strategies will have had their merits and downsides that will have been balanced by each individual.
Things have changed dramatically. Corporate valuers such as e.surv and Countrywide have committed significant sums of money to develop graduate workforces and to take them on a journey to become the valuers of tomorrow.
Competition for qualified valuers is once again on the rise – which will inevitably lead to improved packages. Recruitment consultants and advertising firms are therefore the unexpected beneficiaries as firms jostle to offer sexy packages to potential recruits.
At the time of writing, major firms seem to be focusing on bringing new recruits into the industry, whilst the ‘me too’ players are focusing their efforts on recruiting valuers from those very same firms.
All is fair in love and war but this can only ever be a short-term strategy for those who are seriously interested in revamping the industry. I would argue that stakeholders have a vested interest in driving the industry towards a sustainable model through the choices they make.
A line from one of my favourite films sums it up nicely: “The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”
Richard Sexton is director at chartered surveyors at e.surv
