Book 2 - Appraisal Institute of Canada

Member profile
By Christine Hanlon
The evolution of appraising
As the Appraisal Institute of Canada
celebrates its 70 th anniversary in
2008, we felt it appropriate for some
of our longest standing members to reflect on
the last 50+ years as well as on the direction the
profession is heading in the decades to come.
Ottawa’s Lou
Howard, B.Sc.
(Eng), AAIC, P. App
(Fellow), proudly
sports Certificate
108, evidence of
his position as
one of the few AIC
members who were accredited when he received
his designation in 1957. “I entered the appraisal
business with the most up-to-date piece of
financial equipment then available,” he recalls, “
– a slide rule. Then people started using pocket
calculators and eventually computers. Since that
early start, I have seen the profession grow and
become stronger, with a high level of recognition
based on the excellent work of its professionals in
all fields of valuation.”
In fact, Howard was instrumental in
ensuring that AIC’s training and management
has consistently met the changing market in the
appraisal field. From 1957 to 1989, he served as
“I have seen the
profession grow and
become stronger, with a
high level of recognition
based on the excellent
work of its professionals.”
education chairman for chapters in Edmonton,
Calgary, Halifax and Ottawa, as well as at the
provincial and national association levels.
Despite concerns about competition from
sources such as Automated Valuation Models,
Howard sees a continuing role for professional
appraisers in the valuation of real estate holdings
in mutual funds, shopping centres and other
large realty holding companies. To that end,
he urges practicing members to keep their
knowledge up-to-date and to mentor promising
young candidates coming through the ranks.
He advises the latter to work diligently towards
obtaining an AACI and benefit from the Institute’s
steadily expanding education process, which
introduces the latest techniques and practices in
the valuation of all types of real estate.
Gerry Rouleau,
AACI, P. App of
Sudbury takes this
advice one step
further. He advises
those joining
the profession
to become
designated as quickly as possible, even if this
means borrowing money to make it happen.
“Growth will depend on the number of
accreditations that come out of the numerous
Candidates who now form almost 50% of the
Institute’s membership,” says the founding
member and former six-time chairman of the
Sudbury chapter. He commends the Institute’s
decision to limit candidacy to 10 years.
Changes such as the 2001 decision to
replace the articling system with the applied
experience program make acquiring an AACI a
natural progression. He adds that, in the first
“Those joining the
profession should
become designated as
quickly as possible, even
if this means borrowing
money to make it happen.”
decades of the profession, appraisal courses
were taught by member appraisers. Shifting
the courses to the universities in the late
1970s has also contributed to streamlining the
education process.
Since becoming accredited in 1968, Rouleau
has also witnessed the evolution of provincial
associations. As provincial president in 1978,
he saw the Ontario Association take on some of
the roles previously assumed by the chapters.
By the time he served the national council from
1980 to 1984, several chapters had merged and
found strength in their increased membership.
Around the
same time, the
AIC developed
the Canadian
Uniform Standards
of Professional
Appraisal Practice
(CUSPAP) recalls
Halifax’s Arthur Speed, AACI, P. App (Fellow).
He sees this as a major step in the lead-up to
the provincial acts and regulations that govern
appraisal practice today.
“I see the AIC continuing to move forward
with the times,” adds Speed. “I like this idea of
branding based on high standards. Members
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Canadian Property Valuation Volume 52 | book 2 | 2008 Évaluation Immobilière au Canada