2021 Year in Review: Bill Pastuszek, MAI, Owner, Shepherd Associates LLC

What was the biggest lesson you learned while working during the pandemic? There are really two, and they are related. One is that people respond to seemingly insurmountable challenges extraordinarily well, if allowed to think things through. The second is that markets adapt to change in surprising and unforeseeable ways.

What are your predictions for your industry in 2022? Appraisers have been in unprecedented demand since the lockdown. There is a severe shortage of appraisers, both commercial and residential. Appraisers are going to be challenged by marketplace solutions that are responding to the shortage and which will represent competition to the traditional appraiser business model. Appraisers will need to meet these competitive challenges and become more innovative and creative.

What was your greatest professional accomplishment or most notable project, deal, or transaction in 2021? I completed a number of complex and difficult assignments while using new approaches and technology.

How has your working environment changed over the last year? I have become very comfortable working out of a home office and have shifted my practice to take greater advantage of my experience and knowledge by taking greater advantage of technology and new information sources.

What is the best advice you have received, and who was it from? The late Dick Dennis told me many years ago to not be afraid of tough, difficult assignments. Those are the ones that test your mettle, make you a better appraiser, and lead to bigger and better things if you are willing to apply effort, intelligence, and honesty to arrive at a solution. Good advice.