Career Trends: Property Appraisers and Assessors

Appraisers and assessors of real estate provide an estimate of the value of land and the buildings on the land usually before it is sold, mortgaged, taxed, insured, or developed.

Although appraisers and assessors of real estate work in offices, they often spend a large part of their day visiting properties. Most work full time during regular business hours.

Most appraisers and assessors must be licensed or certified, but requirements vary widely. To obtain a certification, appraisers of residential or commercial property usually must have at least a bachelor's degree. For assessors, most states set education and experience requirements that they must meet in order to practice.

Employment of appraisers and assessors of real estate is projected to grow 8 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment opportunities should be best in areas with active real estate markets. Workers should expect strong competition for jobs.

This occupation supported 83,700 jobs in 2012 and 85,800 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 2.5%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 5.6% in 2022 to 88,400 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 84,600, compared with an observed value of 85,800, 1.4% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 8.0% in 2024 to 92,500 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 89,300 jobs for 2024, 3.5% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation.