For Valcre it’s always been about solving appraiser problems and 2021 was no exception. The pressure to adopt more reliable and modern software as a means to keep up with the evolving demands of today’s market was underscored by Valcre’s 2021 numbers.
We doubled our subscription base in 2021 and are gearing up for another influx in the months ahead as appraisers continue to seek the tools that will help them thrive. Tens of thousands of appraisal reports were completed using Valcre by our ever-growing user base. Investing in software like Valcre in the last 18-24 months has resulted in helping firms meet their rapidly growing client demand.
Our software leveled-up to meet demand for new property types. We added full USPAP-compliant templates for religious facilities, eminent domain, and hospitality. We plan to add full templates for senior housing, student housing and subdivision in 2022.
In the last year, all-in-one technology solutions have become essential for modern day appraisers. Our mobile app continues to offer appraisers flexibility and increased efficiency with added functionality for iPad and tablet support.
Integrations with two major technology companies – Cherre and Rockport VAL – further improve every step of the appraisal process for our customers, freeing up bandwidth for them to accept more jobs. In addition to new property types, Valcre has deployed many high tech features that make us even more secure.
By providing users with access to reliable, highly accurate property data via our one-of-a-kind platform, our customers are better equipped than ever to streamline their work and increase overall output, allowing more time to grow their businesses.
With seamless access to industry-leading valuation and modeling tools, Valcre clients are able to conduct discounted cash flow modeling (DCF) and easily integrate the calculation results into their appraisal reports.
There is so much going on in the industry today, and there are new insights being shared constantly. Information is power. We also were weighing in and sharing our insights about what we’re seeing and what the industry is experiencing to a large audience. Our team of co-founders leverage years of institutional knowledge to discuss trends and offer insights about the state of the market.
Valcre was quoted in 15 mainstream business, real estate and appraisal publications, including Forbes (Three Lessons On Boot-Strapping For Business Owners), Valuation Review (CEO: Commercial Appraisers Are ‘Busier Than Ever) and GlobeSt (Return To Pre-Pandemic Office Values Could Be Five Years Away).
Our survey and its data was used several times throughout the year to support research and trend forecasting to benefit not only our users but the commercial real estate industry at large.
Led by a team of dynamic former appraisers with decades of combined experience, Valcre has become a respected Thought Leader and content creator in the commercial real estate industry.
Appraisal Institute - Events are a core focus for Valcre, so the return of the Appraisal Institute Annual Conference was a huge reason to celebrate. Several of Valcre’s team members flew to Orlando, Florida for three days of knowledge-sharing, networking, and celebrating with hundreds of appraisal professionals from around the nation.
We also reunited with the CompStak team as well as LRES to continue the happy hour tradition and bring our users together to celebrate another year for the industry. Valcre sponsored and attended multiple other Appraisal Institute events throughout 2021 including a virtual event where we co-hosted a virtual webinar for the Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island AI chapters. We partnered with these local chapters to promote technology adoption in the appraisal industry while providing two hours of free continuing education for participants. We also joined a virtual webinar for the South Florida Real Estate Forum hosted by the local South Florida Appraisal Institute chapter for a presentation on The Evolution of Data Management. In 2022, we look forward to continued collaboration with the Appraisal Institute including the Central Florida Real Estate Forum in Orlando on March 4 put on by the East Florida Chapter, and what should be an epic Annual Conference (August 2-3) in Las Vegas at the Bellagio.
International Association of Assessing Officers - We were also able to gather for the Annual IAAO Conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, August 29th to September 1st. More than 70 sessions were offered at the in-person conference to assessors from around the nation. Valcre has been arming assessment and tax departments with streamline data and valuation tools including Pinellas County, FL and Harris County, TX.
American Society of Appraisers - Co-founder and VP Client Experience, Grant Norling attended the ASA International Conference in Las Vegas, NV in late October. During opening remarks, ASA CEO Johnnie White unveiled the new corporate office headquarters in Herndon, VA and described the upcoming rebuild of ASA website as part of their commitment to brand and tech advancement.
Notable breakout sessions included one that really dug into the Dark Store Theory led by Barry Cunningham, and another that was all about Cannabis: the Business, the Equipment, the Real Estate—Bringing it all Together hosted by Vanita Spaulding, Andrew Lines and Michael Peterson. While at the conference, Grant had the opportunity to discuss Valcre with Karen Mann, a general certified appraiser from California that has run her own appraisal business for over 40 years. Since becoming a client a few months ago, Karen has found new efficiency by utilizing the Valcre mobile app and really enjoys using the entire Valcre platform.
This last spring, Valcre was honored to join the National Association of REALTORS® REACH® Commercial Class of 2021. REACH is a scale-up program curated by Second Century Ventures where the most promising start-up businesses in the real estate industry are brought through an entire curriculum of training, industry exposure and relationship building geared towards driving revenue growth and funding for these companies. Valcre co-founders CEO Lucas Rotter and CTO Kris Owens attended multiple events during the REACH program including NAR Innovation, Opportunity & Investment Summit (iOi Summit) in Dallas, and C5 Summit and CREtech in New York. The REACH program concluded at the national REALTORS® conference in sunny San Diego (November 12-15) where several of our teammates gathered to promote Valcre and celebrate the successful program. We really feel like Valcre is now equipped with the knowledge and relationships to fuel the next phase of our business growth, adding power to our platform for existing customers, and prepared to forge a path ahead to serve a broader range of the real estate industry with CRE valuation products.
In 2022 Valcre will continue to bring real value to the valuation industry with a robust pipeline of new features, functionality and integrations. We will continue penetration into the traditional CRE appraisal sector, while expanding our reach to multiple other sectors including assessors, brokerage, banking and mortgage underwriting. Any business that values or underwrites CRE as part of their workflow processes could benefit from leveraging Valcre valuation tools.
The appraisal industry is in the midst of a technological awakening that is set to fundamentally reshape how valuation professionals do their business from interacting with properties, to analyzing data and even to serving their clients. What’s more, the appraisal market remains a graying industry that is top-heavy with an older generation of valuers. Retiring appraisers continue to leave voids in the market that are difficult to fill by young professionals due to high barriers to entry, extensive training requirements and a lack of tech to streamline workflow. Valcre is well suited for appraisal businesses that are serious about attracting new talent to the industry.