Exceptional times present exceptional challenges for everyone. In our commercial world the role of physical inspections is receiving an unprecedented level of thought and scrutiny.
Clearly in the present circumstances they are not a viable means of valuing property but even before the current challenges, physical on-site valuations were on the decline.
Our current ways of doing things may be about to change forever. This is not to say the old ways are redundant (they are not and will be necessary in the future) but we need to sensibly redress the balance and re-imagine how we adapt older processes to support newer demands.
Is this achievable? Well, in short, it already is. Our digital valuations offer a solution enjoyed by many clients already and mean we can help lenders whatever the market weather.
Our panel firms are already supported by many data sources that exist to support a digital process. There is a ‘data lake’ out there that can help inform and correctly ascertain property value and we are certainly not short of technology solutions to access and manipulate the data.
What is not known is how the current crisis may or may not affect property values. There is plenty of speculation and little historic evidence in AVMs or otherwise. That piece needs human expertise until we reach a consensus position in the housing market but that does not always necessitate ‘boots on the ground’.
Circumstances and the market will change and when they do, they may actually return relatively quickly. We saw the result of the Brexit induced pent-up demand in the housing market after the General Election last year.
We will need new processes to cope with a spike in any return. We will also need to understand the impact of the last couple of months on real-time pricing in the UK’s many regional markets.
Digital valuations are already embedded in our business. We conduct tens of thousands every year for our current clients which are PII backed and completed by registered valuers. We expect this number to grow for two reasons.
One is that they address the need to use available data and save our lenders unnecessary operational costs; the second is that they fulfil a growing demand to address carbon footprint issues.
I also believe that the lack of precedent for our current market in AVM data will drive more new business over time to a ‘second check’ by a qualified person via a desktop. After all, we should not address one set of risks by creating another in the shape of a total dependency on technology.
The role of surveyors and valuers is not disappearing. Our panel firm model means we can employ expertise that can match the ebb and flow of lenders’ own businesses. Far from it but the way in which property valuations are made will continue to evolve to meet the demand for a new balance.
Digital valuations were happening anyway – current circumstances will simply hasten, where appropriate, their adoption.
