Land and property valuer and auctioneer Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Land and property valuer and auctioneer

Hours

37-40 per week
Starting salary

£23,000 + per year

The work

Land and property valuers/auctioneers estimate the market value of land, buildings and commercial property (real estate) for clients, in order to maximise profit from its sale or rental income. Local authorities also use these valuations to help set council tax and rating levels. Valuers are normally qualified surveyors who specialise in this particular field.

Your job as a land and property valuer would involve researching and writing detailed reports for clients about their assets. Once the client is happy with your findings, you would organise the auction sale, market it to attract potential bidders, and manage the auction process itself.

You would also carry out other work for clients, including:

business and insurance valuations
compensation assessments
investment appraisals and advice.

You would need to be aware of the issues that can influence price, such as location, business potential, and legal, social and economic factors.

You may be able to specialise in dispute resolution, which could include appearing as an expert witness if a party starts formal legal proceedings to sort out a disagreement. You could also specialise in valuing and auctioning machinery if a business closes down or is sold off.

Hours

You would normally work 37 to 40 hours a week. Some property viewings and auctions may take place during evenings and weekends to maximise attendance.

Your job would be a combination of office work and fieldwork. Some auctions may be held outdoors when conditions allow. You would spend some of your time visiting sites and travelling to meet clients.

Income

Starting salaries can be between £23,000 and £26,000 a year
With experience, this can rise to between £27,000 and £36,000
Chartered land and property valuers can earn in excess of £40,000 a year.

Freelance land and property valuers charge according to their experience and type of contract.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You would normally need a degree or professional qualification approved by the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to become a land and property valuer. Relevant subjects include:

residential surveying and valuation
building surveying
law
real estate management (valuation and management).

You can search for accredited qualifications on the dedicated RICS Courses website.

RICS Accredited Courses

If you have an HNC/HND or foundation degree in surveying, you may be able to find work as a surveying technician. As a technician you can become an Associate member of RICS. You can then progress from Associate level to Chartered level through continued experience and by gaining additional qualifications.

The nature of the work means that you are likely to need a driving licence.

For more details about valuation careers and degree course providers, visit the RICS website.

Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Training and development

You should continue to update your knowledge and skills throughout your career. You would normally do this by working towards chartered status through the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) scheme.

To qualify for chartered status through the RICS, you must complete the RICS APC while you are working. You will need two years' postgraduate work experience and you will have to attend an interview with a panel of assessors.

If you are a qualified surveyor, your employer would put you through auctioneering training. The RICS website has information guides on the auctioneering process.

The Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) offers training that covers the valuation, legal and taxation aspects of this job. They also offer a professional membership scheme which could help your career prospects. For more details, see the IRRV website.

Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV)

There are different IRRV membership gradesdepending on your current qualification level. Contact the IRRV to find out about relevant courses and membership criteria.

Skills and knowledge

excellent communication and presentation skills
good STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
excellent negotiating skills
the ability to show tact and diplomacy at all times
good organisational skills and the ability to work under pressure
an up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation
a commitment to continual professional development
the ability to prepare written evidence in connection with valuation disputes.

Foreign language skills may be useful if you want to work for companies involved in valuing assets abroad.

More information

Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) (Opens new window)
5th Floor Northumberland House
303 - 306 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JZ
Tel: 020 7831 3505
www.irrv.net

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (Opens new window)
Parliament Square
London
SW1P 3AD
Tel: 0207 334 3875
www.rics.org

Asset Skills (Opens new window)
2 The Courtyard
48 New North Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 4EP
Tel: 01392 423399
Careers Advice: careers@assetskills.org
www.assetskills.org

Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE) (Opens new window)
Birmingham City University
Perry Barr
Birmingham
B42 2SU
Tel: 0121 331 5174
www.abbeqa.co.uk

College of Estate Management (Opens new window)
Whiteknights
Reading
Berkshire
RG6 6AW
Tel: 0800 019 9697
www.cem.ac.uk

Opportunities

You could find work with a range of employers, such as:

estate agencies
local authorities
auctioneers
surveying firms
banks and building societies
the civil service
the government's Valuation Office Agency.

With experience, you could become a project manager, company partner or work as a freelance consultant.

You may find the following useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open in a new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The property and planning industry is part of the facilities management, housing, cleaning and support services, and parking sector, represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce, which has continued to grow since 1998, represents 3% of the total UK workforce.

The property and planning industry covers both the private and public sectors and includes: acquiring, planning, surveying and valuing of commercial and residential property; plus valuing, selling, letting and managing of commercial and residential property.

Key facts:

The property and planning industry includes key areas of commercial and residential sales and lettings and property management.
There are 155,300 people working in the property industry in 37,200 companies.
There are significantly more full‐time than part‐time employees in the industry.
96% of all housing and property organisations have 10 or less employees.

Jobs in the industry include: estate agent; letting agent; surveyor; town planner; auctioneer; residential property or block manager; domestic energy assessor; and emerging jobs such as commercial energy assessor, housing energy adviser and community energy adviser.

National and regional data

The following provides a breakdown of the number of property sector employees in each of the Nations and English regions.

Region	Number of employees	Regional key characteristics
East Midlands	9,400	Nearly half (46%) of the property sector workforce in the East Midlands is aged over 50. A higher than average proportion is employed on a part‐time basis (43%)
East Of England	13,100	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in the East of England is male (53%) and employed on a full‐ time basis (85%)
London	29,500	London is the largest employer of the property sector in England (19%). A significant proportion of employment is full‐time (81%), and a large proportion of the workforce is black and ethnic minorities (17%)
North East	6,300	The North East employs the smallest proportion of the property sector workforce across the English regions (4%)
North West	14,400	The North West employs 9% of the property sector workforce in England. A significant proportion of the workforce is female (61%)
South East	26,500	After London, the South East region is the second highest employer of the property sector (17%)
South West	15,200	The South West employs a significantly higher proportion of males (51%) compared to the workforce across England. 98% of the workforce is white
West Midlands	15,100	The West Midlands accounts for 10% of the property sector workforce in England.
Yorkshire & The Humber	11,000	Compared with other English regions, a significant proportion of the workforce is female (64%) and the majority is white (98%)
Northern Ireland	*	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in Northern Ireland is female (66%) and the majority (58%) of the workforce is aged between 20‐29 years
Scotland	9,400	Scotland employs 6% of the total UK property sector workforce. Women make up 60% of employees, 98% of the workforce is white, with the majority employed on a full‐time basis (81%)
Wales	4,600	Wales employs 3% of the total UK property sector workforce. The majority, (60%) of the workforce is female and 99% of the workforce is white. Compared to the UK, high proportions are employed on a part‐time basis (36%)

Source: Annual Population Survey, Housing and Property Labour Market Intelligence Update, Asset Skills, 2008
* Due to a low sample base this figure is excluded.