8.6.4.1Vertical

Commercial Appraisal Firms

MAI-designated firms appraising commercial and income properties.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Real Estate Appraisal & Valuation (8.6.4), the segment that Commercial Appraisal Firms sits within. They are not figures for Commercial Appraisal Firms on its own.

Market size
~$7.9B
Growth
~3.8%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~12,861 firms
Firms by employee count

98.7% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 12,691 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe170 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
12171%
100–499
2112%
500+
2816%

The slowest growth in real-estate services, and the segment most exposed to automation: lenders increasingly accept model-driven valuations for straightforward residential collateral. What remains defensible is complex commercial work, where the appraiser's judgement is the product.

NAICS 531320. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Appraisal and valuation fees

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$615,843
Revenue per employee
$192,944
Employees per firm
2.9
Recurring revenue
Low–Moderate

transaction- and portfolio-driven

EBITDA margin
Professional-services economics
Capex intensity
Low

Characteristics

  • Balanced cost base: payroll is 32% of revenue, leaving room to scale margin without cutting staff
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 28 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Independent appraisers, AMCs, and valuation firms.
  • Tied to transaction and lending volumes.
  • AVMs and modernization reshaping the profession.

NAICS 531320. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandColoradoUtahIdaho

Idaho, Utah and Colorado. Appraisal capacity follows transaction volume, and these were among the most actively traded housing markets in the country through the period.

IdahoUtahColorado

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 531320. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Appraisal management companies
  • Valuation & data firms
  • PE-backed consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • AMC and valuation-firm consolidation.
  • AVM and appraisal-modernization technology.
  • Aging-workforce and capacity dynamics.

Find Commercial Appraisal Firms acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Commercial Appraisal Firms (8.6.4.1) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

Search companies