VALUERS’ FEES Competition/Fees/Quality and the Race to the Bottom Roger G. Messenger BSc (Hons) FRICS FIRRV MCIArb (Hons) MIPAV REV Hon. CAAV RICS Registered Valuer Vice Chairman, TEGoVA Chairman of REV Recognition Committee Wilks Head & Eve rmessenger@wilks-head.co.uk

COMPETITIVE MARKET Valuers particularly good at cutting each others’ throats, not competing on experience and quality but on cost – “Get what you pay for”, may well be the result.

ARE THERE TOO MANY VALUERS? Competent quality valuers – getting the message over. Client confidence is not promoted by a cost-cutting valuation if it is provided by quality work. All clients will recognise that greater input and output costs money But fees are insignificant in the investment decision. Compete on quality – REV and TRV should assist.

CLIENT COST PRESSURE Residential mortgage market – banks have driven down fees and Valuers have complied by still doing the work. An inspection and valuation for €30. Is that sustainable? Is there any quality?

If Client only expects a figure and sees that an AVM, does the same job, same day for a few EUROs, then we are not competing in the same market – nor should we be.

If Clients do not understand what a Valuer brings, then there is an education piece for Valuers, Associations and TEGoVA. Fees need to be sustainable, profitable and reflective of the inputs. If we provide little, we can expect little!

If we are offered €20 - €30 per valuation – should we be in that market at all? Difficult as a core business for the small valuation firm, often rural, Surveyors / Valuers.

AMCs, Panel Managers, Valuation Brokers Fee dilution – may be significant Fairness, equity Competition Valuers co-operative/AMC/…. – take the fight to them.

Associations / TEGoVA Can’t fix fees – must be open competition. We can mutually avoid a race to the bottom. We need to price the quality outputs and not buy turnover/market share. If we offer a poor product, are relatively slow compared to an AVM and we are more expensive, then maybe we deserve what we get – That is not where we want to be!

THANK YOU! Roger G. Messenger BSc (Hons) FRICS FIRRV MCIArb (Hons) MIPAV REV Hon. CAAV RICS Registered Valuer Vice Chairman, TEGoVA Chairman of REV Recognition Committee Wilks Head & Eve rmessenger@wilks-head.co.uk