What is the Difference between a Certified Residential Appraiser and a Certified General Appraiser?


(**) Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning our company, JCHQ Publishing will get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through the links, but at no additional cost to you.

The “Certified Residential Appraiser” and “Certified General Appraiser” may sound similar to many people. It seems that both have a degree of recognition in the real estate market since they hold the “Certified” status. But if you are thinking of pursuing a career in the appraisal field, you better figure out their distinctions before deciding which license to obtain.

The difference between a Certified Residential Appraiser and a Certified General Appraiser is that a Certified General Appraiser can appraise any real estate. In contrast, a Certified Residential Appraiser is restricted to appraise property with up to 4 dwelling units, regardless of its value or complexity. 

I have done some research from numerous credible sources such as The Appraisal Foundation and The Appraisal Institution. I hope these findings can help you better understand the distinction between the Certified Residential and Certified General Appraiser license.

This post will compare the requirement differences to become a Certified Residential Appraiser and a Certified General Appraiser, difficulties of their exams, demand of the professions, income figures, and outlook of each appraisal license.

Summary of Differences between a Certified Residential Appraiser and a Certified General Appraiser

Certified Residential AppraiserCertified General Appraiser
Scope of WorkProperty with up to 4 dwelling units, regardless of its value or complexity.Any real estate
Appraisal Education200 hours of qualifying education300 hours of qualifying education
Work Experience1,500 hours in no fewer than twelve (12) months3,000 hours in no fewer than eighteen (18) months. At least half of them must be in non-residential work. 
Examination4 hours; 125 questions6 hours; 125 questions
College Level Education Fulfill 1 of 6 options of college level educationBachelor’s degree or higher

The Certified General Appraiser has a Broader Scope of Work than a Certified Residential Appraiser

Certified Residential Appraisers vs Certified General Appraisers

This is the major difference between Certified Residential Appraiser and Certified General Appraiser.

Although you can appraise any property regardless of its value or complexity, it is restricted to properties with up to 4 dwelling units.

In contrast, a Certified General Appraiser can appraise any real estate. In addition to residential units, CG appraisers can evaluate for all different types of properties – for example, commercial buildings, retail stores, hotels, golf courses, industrial plants, farmland, schools, and even cemetery.

Do Certified General or Residential Appraiser License has a Higher Demand from the Market?

Proportions of Licensed and Certified Appraisers 2018

I think the best way to find out is by observing at which license appraisers are holding. After all, it is reasonable to assume everyone would want the best for their appraisal business.

As you could see from the pie chart, more than half of the appraisers hold the Certified Residential license.

On the other hand, even though it takes longer and more work experience to become a Certified General Appraiser, they still represent a significant portion of 41.1% of the real estate appraisal industry.

When I reviewed the figures from Appraisal Institute, the proportions of CG appraisers has been in a slight upward trend since 2014.

Certified General Appraisers Earn More than Certified Residential Appraisers

Many Certified General Appraisers tend to expand their scope of work to commercial properties. According to Salary.com (May 20, 2020), appraisers who focus on commercial real estate earn an average of $101,968 per year. Their annual income typically ranges between $87,703 and $116,973.

In contrast, residential real estate appraisers have an average annual income of $54,561. The income range is usually around $44,966 and $63,052.

Is commercial real estate appraisal a good career? Check out this complete guide. In it, you’ll find the type of work involved as a commercial real estate appraiser, the income potential, and the training you need to have to become one.

The Certified General Appraiser License Requires more Appraisal Education

Certified General Appraiser License Requires more Appraisal Education

To become a Certified Residential Appraiser, you only need to complete 200 hours of appraisal courses from an approved education provider.

On the other hand, to obtain the Certified Residential Appraiser license, you must complete 300 hours of appraisal classes.

In addition to the 75 hours of Appraiser Trainee courses, here are the ones you must complete to be a Certified Residential or Certified General Appraiser.

Appraisal EducationCertified Residential AppraiserCertified General Appraiser
Residential Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use15
Residential Site Valuation and Cost Approach15
Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches30
Residential Report Writing and Case Studies15
Real Estate Finance, Statistics, and Valuation Modeling1515
Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies/ Part 115
Advanced Residential Report Writing (elective) / Part 230
General Appraiser Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use30
General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach30
General Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach30
General Appraiser Income Approach/Part 130
General Appraiser Income Approach/Part 230
General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies30
Electives30
Total Hours210300

The first step to your appraisal career is to complete the pre-licensing courses from a trusted education provider. McKissock received an incredible rating from its students, and their online lessons are taught by instructors who have actual experience in the appraisal industry. You may click here to find out more about their courses. (**)

More Work Experience Hours are Needed to Become a Certified General Appraiser

More Work Experience Hours are Needed to Become a Certified General Appraiser

Each level of appraiser license has its work experience requirements. You could obtain them by working on appraisal assignments. In many states, you would need to record the details into a regulatory-approved log sheet.

To become a Certified Residential Appraiser, you must accumulate 1,500 hours in no fewer than 12 months.

On the other hand, to become a Certified General Appraiser, you must accumulate 3,000 hours in no fewer than 18 months. Keep in mind that at least 1500 hours must be for non-residential work.

If your route is first to become a Certified Residential Appraiser, then upgrade to a Certified General license, once you have accumulated the 1500 hours of residential work, it’s better to swift your focus to non-residential appraising.

Alternatively, you may simply bypass the Certified Residential Appraiser route. You can go directly for the Certified General license and allocate the work hours mostly on non-residential assignments.

On a separate note, I had a chance to connect with a Commercial Real Estate Appraiser. He started his appraisal career when he was still studying in college. But he went straight into the commercial field and never done any residential work. You could find his sharing of his appraisal career in this post

Subscribe to learn more about the real estate appraisal career

  • How much do real estate appraisers make?
  • Feedback from actual appraisers whether this is a good career
  • Exclusive interviews of real estate appraisers on how they started their professional practice
  • What it takes to succeed in this career and how to get started?
  • and many more…

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated.

The College-Level Education Requirement is Different

Certified General Appraiser requires Bachelor's degree

To become a Certified Residential Appraiser, you must complete 1 of 6 options of college-level education. Well, one of the options does not really require you to have completed study at college. Rather, you just need to have worked as a Licensed Residential Appraiser for at least 5 years.

On the contrary, it is mandatory that you have a Bachelor’s degree or higher education for becoming a Certified General Appraiser. Although I agree that having a stringent requirement may enhance the overall quality of the industry, I cannot find the rationale that the Bachelor’s degree can be any field of study.

Why can a Music degree graduate pursue the Certified General Appraiser license, but not a Licensed/Certified Residential Appraiser who has years of appraising experience simply due to the college-level education requirement?

Is the Certified Residential or Certified General Appraiser Exam Easier?

You will have 4 hours to complete the Certified Residential Appraiser Exam and 6 hours for the Certified General Appraiser’s.

Both exams have 125 questions. The result will be a scaled score range from 0 to 110. Their required passing score is 75.

Certified Residential Appraiser and Certified General Appraiser Exam Passing Rate

There is no apparent trend to which exam has a higher passing rate. If you review the required appraisal education, the Certified Residential and Certified General do not have too many overlapped courses.

However, Certified General Appraisers are not limited to working on commercial properties. They can also work on residential assignments.
It is reasonable to assume that the CG exam would also cover residential topics. But not vice versa for Certified Residential Appraisers.

Also, the CG appraiser exam is given two more hours to write. Therefore, the CG exam should cover broader topics than the CR’s.

To increase your chance in passing the exam on the first time, make sure to check out our exam hacks. In there, not only you will find the content of the exam, but also 10 effective tips on how to prepare for it.

Final Thoughts about being a Certified Residential or General Appraiser

I believe obtaining a Certified General Appraiser license is a fabulous way to expand your scope of work beyond the residential market. It gives you a greater competitive edge over other non-CG appraisers. 

Especially nowadays, many appraisers have a concern that the residential market is overly competitive, focusing on other appraisal niches could be a nice blue ocean strategy for your business. 

Furthermore, some highly recognizable appraisal designations also require their designee to be a Certified General Appraiser. For example, the MAI designation offered by the Appraisal Institute. (If you want to know more about the MAI, here is a post for you.)

By the way, I wrote this post based on the Appraisal Qualification Board (AQB) guideline. But every state could impose an additional requirement for their appraisal license applicants. You may click here to find out the steps to become a real estate appraiser in your state.

So would you choose to become a CR or CG appraiser? What are your considerations when making the decision? Please let me know in the comment section below.

(**) Affiliate Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you. Our company, JCHQ Publishing will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking on the link. Please understand that we include them based on our experience or the research on these companies or products, and we recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something through the links. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.

Disclaimer: The information in this post is for general information only, and not intend to provide any advice. They are subjected to change without any notice, and not guaranteed to be error-free. Some of the posts on this site may contain views and opinions from individual not related to JCHQ Publishing. They do not necessarily reflect our view or position.

Reference:

  • The Appraisal Foundation
    • The Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria (source)
    • National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination Pass Rates 2015-2019 (source)
    • Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria (source)
    • How to Become a Real Property Appraiser (source)
  • The Appraisal Institute
    • U.S Valuation Profession Fact Sheet Q1- 2019 (source)
    • Qualifying Education: Licensed or Certified Residential Appraiser (source)
    • Qualifying Education: Certified General Appraiser (source)
  • Pearson Vue National Appraiser Examination Candidate Handbook (source)
  • Census Bureau – New Houses Sold by Sales Price: United States (source)
  • Salary.com
    • Appraiser (Residential Real Estate) Salary (source)
    • Appraiser (Commercial Real Estate) Salary (source)

Author

  • Jacob Coleman

    Jacob is a content writer and a real estate investor. He has experience working with different real estate professionals throughout the years. (i.e., appraisers, real estate agents, property managers, home inspectors.) In order to build a career you love, Jacob believes not only you need a thorough understanding about the profession, but you also have to find out what type of jobs could match your personality, lifestyle and expectation.

Jacob Coleman

Jacob is a content writer and a real estate investor. He has experience working with different real estate professionals throughout the years. (i.e., appraisers, real estate agents, property managers, home inspectors.) In order to build a career you love, Jacob believes not only you need a thorough understanding about the profession, but you also have to find out what type of jobs could match your personality, lifestyle and expectation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap