Historic foundation of lasting value

The life of the registered valuer is often lived in the shadows of property transactions, and can therefore be mistaken to be a profession in its infancy. Actually, New Zealand's valuation profession was formalised by The Valuers Act 1948, after evolving haphazardly from the late 1800s and with origins in antiquity. Today, tertiary education, on-the-job training and continual registration requirements highlight the extensive knowledge that is required of the modern-day registered valuer.

Today, registered valuers provide unemotional lucidity on clients' prospective property decisions. Sometimes this requires us to deliver less than palatable news to clients who have fallen head-over-heels in love with a cottage they perceive as a castle, on which they want to stake a king's ransom. Or it could be the other way around, with a seller struggling to sell because their expectations are out of whack with buyer sentiment.

When buying or selling, it is easy to get caught up in the smaller details of a property and forget to consider the wider picture. The true value we bring to the equation is a perspective that is not emotionally or financially tied to any property transaction.

The uncertainty that underpins our property market cements our existence for now. Many New Zealanders have learned to seek property advice, just as they would engage an accountant to advise on their tax position. Given the prominence of New Zealand's love affair with property, we are often in the thick of things. No one actually knows what values will be doing even six months down the track, and we are the first to admit it. However, you can rest assured that when it comes time for you to engage a valuer, we will be here; independently analysing values in your local market, clarifying issues relating to titles and zoning, and giving advice.

The more visual part of the valuation industry developed out of government procedure and statutory requirements to produce rating valuations. Thus, in earlier days many valuers were civil servants who worked for the first Government valuation department. In 1998, The Rating Valuations Act introduced contestability to the rating valuations market. This enabled any valuation firm to tender for rating valuation work required by New Zealand's councils, although many refrained from entering this sector.

Although there is increasing awareness and use of valuation services, it's not all peachy for the valuation industry. Our pool of professionals is shrinking, unable to compete with more lucrative careers attracting our youth. It is a job that comes with intense stress - deadlines are short and clients often have conflicting expectations. But valuers will tell you that we get satisfaction from knowing our markets well and receiving positive feedback from regular clients.