NZ Registered Valuer Exam study plan
NZ Registered Valuer Exam · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Valuation Methodology and Approaches (market, income, cost and residual approaches; reconciliation) & Valuation Principles, Standards and Ethics
Derive the full valuation formula chain (IVS/ANZVGN-style) for the income approach, including capitalisation and DCF, and write out each variable's definition from memory
Compute a 5-year DCF with terminal value for a hypothetical commercial property and reconcile it against a direct capitalisation result, explaining the difference in writing
List the elements of comparison and adjustment grid for the market approach and apply percentage adjustments to five comparable sales
Summarise the professional and ethical standards (independence, objectivity, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, competence) into a one-page checklist
Draft a personal glossary of valuation definitions (market value, fair value, highest and best use, special value) with citations
Your checkpoint
A 3-page methodology summary containing the formula chain, one worked DCF vs capitalisation reconciliation, and the ethics checklist
Valuation Methodology and Approaches (market, income, cost and residual approaches; reconciliation) & Property Law, Land Tenure and Interests in Land (including estates, titles, leases, easements and covenants)
Work through the cost approach and residual/development approach with a full worked example each, showing all inputs and sensitivity to key assumptions
Explain when each of the four approaches is most defensible and justify reconciliation weighting in three short case scenarios
Map the estates and interests in land (fee simple, leasehold, life interest, easements, covenants, profits) and state how each affects value
Analyse how lease terms (rent review, renewal, reinstatement, outgoings) change the value of the leased fee versus leasehold interest
Complete 20 practice calculations across all four approaches under timed conditions
Your checkpoint
A worked-answers workbook of 8 calculations (two per approach) with reconciliation notes and a one-page estates/interests mind map
Valuation Methodology and Approaches (market, income, cost and residual approaches; reconciliation) & Commercial, Industrial and Retail Valuation
Apply the income approach to a retail, an industrial and an office scenario, selecting and justifying capitalisation rates and yields
Build a cash-flow model for a multi-tenant commercial property including vacancy, leasing incentives, operating expenses and outgoings recovery
Analyse market evidence for capitalisation rate derivation and articulate the risk factors that move rates
Explain how incentives (rent-free periods, fit-out contributions) are treated in market rent and capital value
Complete a mock exam set of 15 commercial valuation multiple-choice and short-answer questions
Your checkpoint
A commercial valuation case file for one property (income approach, rate selection, incentive treatment, sensitivity table) plus a scored 15-question practice set
Statutory and Regulatory Framework (valuation legislation, professional regulation, disciplinary and complaints processes) & Rates, Rating Valuation and Statutory Valuations
Outline the statutory framework for registered valuers, including registration pathways, ongoing competence requirements and the role of the professional body
Trace the complaints and disciplinary process end to end, noting natural justice, appeal rights and possible sanctions
Explain the rating valuation system: valuation rolls, rating units, revaluation cycles, objections and the objection/appeal pathway
Differentiate rating valuations from market valuations and from statutory valuations (e.g. compulsory acquisition, compensation)
Answer 10 short-answer questions on statutory and regulatory processes without notes
Your checkpoint
A one-page process flowchart for the disciplinary pathway and a second flowchart for the rating objection pathway, each with a 150-word explanatory note
Residential and Rural Valuation & Construction, Building and Site Analysis (including earthquake, weathertightness and remediation issues)
Value a residential property using the sales comparison approach with a full adjustment grid and justified adjustments
Value a rural property (e.g. pastoral or horticultural unit) using production-based and market evidence, addressing scale, improvements and land classification
Identify construction systems, cladding types, foundations and weathertightness risk features, and explain how each affects value and marketability
Explain earthquake-related issues (damage, repairs, strengthening, insurance, seismic ratings) and their valuation impact
Produce a remediation cost estimate framework for weathertightness and earthquake defects and show how it feeds into value
Your checkpoint
Two short valuation reports (residential and rural) of 400-500 words each, including adjustment grids and a defect/remediation section
Resource Management, Planning and Land Use Controls & Property Law, Land Tenure and Interests in Land (including estates, titles, leases, easements and covenants)
Explain the resource management framework: plans, zones, rules, consent types, permitted vs discretionary activity status and how each constrains use
Assess how zoning, overlays, designations and heritage controls affect highest and best use and value
Analyse title documents: legal descriptions, appurtenant easements, covenants, encumbrances and their valuation implications
Explain the interaction between planning controls and subdivision/development potential in a residual land value calculation
Solve 12 scenario questions on planning constraints and title interests
Your checkpoint
A land-use and title analysis memo for one hypothetical site (zoning, consents required, title interests, effect on HBU and value) of 500 words
Report Writing, Evidence and Expert Witness Practice & Valuation Principles, Standards and Ethics
Write a valuation report to a recognised report standard, ensuring all mandatory disclosures, assumptions, limiting conditions and scope are present
Draft a compliant expert witness statement and explain the duties of an expert to the court, including independence and disclosure of instructions
Prepare and deliver a 10-minute oral cross-examination defence on a valuation opinion, anticipating challenges to method and evidence
Review three sample reports and identify standards or ethics breaches
Consolidate the ethics checklist from week 1 into the report-writing quality gate
Your checkpoint
A full mock valuation report (800-1,000 words) with a separate expert witness statement and a self-review checklist showing all standards met
Valuation Principles, Standards and Ethics & Statutory and Regulatory Framework (valuation legislation, professional regulation, disciplinary and complaints processes) & Property Law, Land Tenure and Interests in Land (including estates, titles, leases, easements and covenants) & Valuation Methodology and Approaches (market, income, cost and residual approaches; reconciliation) & Residential and Rural Valuation & Commercial, Industrial and Retail Valuation & Rates, Rating Valuation and Statutory Valuations & Resource Management, Planning and Land Use Controls & Construction, Building and Site Analysis (including earthquake, weathertightness and remediation issues) & Report Writing, Evidence and Expert Witness Practice
Sit two full timed mock exams under exam conditions and record scores by domain
Re-study the two weakest domains based on mock results, redoing all missed questions
Recite the formula chain, ethics checklist and disciplinary/rating pathways from memory
Review all week-by-week deliverables and correct any remaining gaps
Build a one-page formula and definitions sheet for final revision
Your checkpoint
A score tracker across both mocks by domain, with a written remediation plan for any domain below 70% and a final one-page revision sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Can compute and reconcile all four valuation approaches from memory and explain the estates and interests in land without notes
Week 4: Can draw the disciplinary and rating objection pathways from memory and score at least 70% on the 10-question statutory short-answer set
Week 6: Can identify planning constraints and title interests for a new site and explain their effect on highest and best use within 30 minutes
Week 8: Score at least 70% overall and no lower than 60% in any single domain on both timed mock exams