Article | Future Cities
The Valuation Journey: Rosie Young’s path from unique assets to Purpose Built Student Accommodation
What do the world’s largest manufacturer of pilot ejection seats, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Sydney’s State Theatre and an Australian wildlife park have in common? They’ve all been valued by CBRE’s Rosie Young.
January 21, 2025
From the outside, valuations might seem like a numbers game. But for Rosie, who specialises in hotels and Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), it’s all about looking deeper to uncover the value of an asset.
“I think one of the biggest misconceptions about valuations is we spend our whole day in front of an Excel spreadsheet looking at numbers. But there is a lot of client interaction as well as business development, research, reviewing data, and of course writing reports,” Rosie explains.
So if it’s not having an affinity with Excel spreadsheets, what makes a good valuer? Rosie says some of the traits successful valuers have in common are trustworthiness, an analytical mind and good attention to detail. They are also usually inquisitive and intuitive.
“Intuitive is probably not a trait people would necessarily associate with valuers, but to understand the whole value of a property – especially if it’s an unusual or unique asset - often means following your gut to some extent, as well as using data.
“I have always had a very inquiring mind. I like talking to people, finding things out and trying to get as much information as possible to understand what challenges each business faces and what is behind their success. And then I tie all that in with data and my knowledge of real estate.
“The reason hotels are different to some other asset classes is because they're deemed a ‘going concern’ asset which means the value of the property is intrinsically tied to the business. When we value a hotel, we look at the fair, maintainable trade that could be generated. Not necessarily what is being achieved, but what a third party could deliver from the property. We will look at a hotel’s accounts, income, revenue per available room, costs to run that hotel, and we make assumptions on that basis. An important part of the inspection process, aside from just looking at the physical real estate, is talking to the general manager, understanding what trends they’re seeing in their business, finding out if there is any new competition in the market, seeing if trading conditions are strengthening or weakening. It's more of a business-focused valuation, as opposed to just purely real estate, which is one of the things I like about this type of valuation.”
Getting out of the office and meeting with people to better understand the built environments where we live, work and play was one of the main drawcards for Rosie when she decided to pursue a career in property.
“I knew I wanted to do something professional-based and once I looked into property and found out I wouldn’t have to be 100% office-based I realised this was the profession for me. I liked the diversity that commercial property offered because it covers many different sectors. When I was at the start of my career, I felt that it allowed me to keep my options open.”
After completing university, Rosie was accepted to a graduate program at a UK commercial property firm and spent two years learning on the job.
“In the UK you don't train to be a valuer, you're trained to be a property professional. I worked in a variety of teams including property management, leasing and letting, valuation, lease renewals and rent reviews. It's only once you become a chartered surveyor do you decide which area of the business you want to specialise in. After my two-year training program, I knew valuations was for me and like many commercial valuers, I started out in the main sectors of office, retail and industrial.”
Rosie enjoys getting out of the office to meet with people and experience the built environments where we live, work and play to help inform her valuations.
“In the UK I was based in the Midlands which is renowned for being the home of British Motorsport. So, I’ve looked at quite a few assets related to the motorsport industry. I've been to a vehicle testing track, the Triumph Motorcycle factory in Hinckley, and a MotoGP design and testing facility.
“One of my most interesting valuation instructions during my time in the UK was valuing Martin-Baker's factory and design facility in Buckinghamshire. Martin-Baker is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ejector seats for the aviation industry. They supply ejection seats to something like 93 different air forces worldwide, have their own runway and in reception they keep a log of all ejections. There are more than you’d think.”
But it’s not all runways and racing tracks. Rosie recalled the intense safety regulations she had to adhere to when doing a valuation of an oil storage depot.
“I’ll always remember that one, they wouldn’t let you step on site until you had completed their health and safety test and the safety videos they showed me were very scary. I wasn't allowed to take my camera – we still used cameras in those days – on site because of the flash which was a fire risk. Any form of spark was absolutely prohibited.”
Considering Rosie’s empathetic approach to her work and genuine motivation to understand how people are impacted by the built environment, it’s not surprising she was drawn to the PBSA sector. Using her expertise to advise clients about the benefits of investing in PBSA, which has positive knock-on effects for the wider community, is one of the most satisfying aspects of Rosie’s role.
“I’ve always had an interest in the living component of real estate and PBSA caught my imagination because I can see how it can benefit so many. I could also see how there was a huge requirement for accommodation standards for students to be improved,” she said.
With 15 years’ of valuing PBSA in the UK, the opportunity to work in Australia’s emerging sector and drive growth was one of the factors behind Rosie’s decision to relocate from CBRE in the UK to a role in Sydney in 2017.
“I like the thought of improving standards across student accommodation because I’ve always felt this demographic is underrepresented in terms of having a voice. In the case of international students, they are a transient population that can't vote so I find the political factors tied to PBSA keeps me interested.”
“International students are generally young, possibly away from their home country for the first time. Sometimes, they are the first of their family to go to university so they can have a huge amount of pressure placed on them. Being able to play a small part in providing them with safe, high-quality housing gives me a sense of satisfaction.”
As well as providing accommodation to students, Rosie sees the wider positive impact PBSA has on the community.
“I deeply believe we need greater diversity in housing stock, we're not as far progressed in that area as we should be. When you create housing specifically for a demographic it means that you can tailor the physical product better to meet their specific needs and you're not trying to do a ‘one size fits all’ approach,” she explained.
“Having good, purpose built accommodation has benefits that flow through to wider society. The theory being, if you supply high-density bespoke housing for a particular demographic, in this instance students, then that frees up housing stock for other demographics to fill which is another reason I am so pro PBSA.”
Rosie Young enjoying a moment with an Aussie icon while valuing a wildlife park.
While taking an active role in the growing PBSA sector, including providing insight into CBRE’s Australian Student Accommodation Report which outlined how demand significantly outstrips supply, continues to be an important part of Rosie’s work she will always make time for other assets she loves.
As part of the hotel valuations team, her experience with unusual and complex assets has given Rosie the opportunity to visit some of Australia’s most iconic destinations including hotels at Uluru, Flinders Ranges, Barossa Valley and the island of Guam.
“Probably my favourite inspections to do are wildlife parks,” she said. “I got to feed a giraffe once and I had a photo with a koala while dressed in my full work gear. They are a nice asset to value. After I’ve done the formal part of my tour they usually let me stay for a bit longer so I can have another look around the park and see the animals. It’s great!”
“I think one of the biggest misconceptions about valuations is we spend our whole day in front of an Excel spreadsheet looking at numbers. But there is a lot of client interaction as well as business development, research, reviewing data, and of course writing reports,” Rosie explains.
So if it’s not having an affinity with Excel spreadsheets, what makes a good valuer? Rosie says some of the traits successful valuers have in common are trustworthiness, an analytical mind and good attention to detail. They are also usually inquisitive and intuitive.
“Intuitive is probably not a trait people would necessarily associate with valuers, but to understand the whole value of a property – especially if it’s an unusual or unique asset - often means following your gut to some extent, as well as using data.
“I have always had a very inquiring mind. I like talking to people, finding things out and trying to get as much information as possible to understand what challenges each business faces and what is behind their success. And then I tie all that in with data and my knowledge of real estate.
“The reason hotels are different to some other asset classes is because they're deemed a ‘going concern’ asset which means the value of the property is intrinsically tied to the business. When we value a hotel, we look at the fair, maintainable trade that could be generated. Not necessarily what is being achieved, but what a third party could deliver from the property. We will look at a hotel’s accounts, income, revenue per available room, costs to run that hotel, and we make assumptions on that basis. An important part of the inspection process, aside from just looking at the physical real estate, is talking to the general manager, understanding what trends they’re seeing in their business, finding out if there is any new competition in the market, seeing if trading conditions are strengthening or weakening. It's more of a business-focused valuation, as opposed to just purely real estate, which is one of the things I like about this type of valuation.”
Getting out of the office and meeting with people to better understand the built environments where we live, work and play was one of the main drawcards for Rosie when she decided to pursue a career in property.
“I knew I wanted to do something professional-based and once I looked into property and found out I wouldn’t have to be 100% office-based I realised this was the profession for me. I liked the diversity that commercial property offered because it covers many different sectors. When I was at the start of my career, I felt that it allowed me to keep my options open.”
After completing university, Rosie was accepted to a graduate program at a UK commercial property firm and spent two years learning on the job.
“In the UK you don't train to be a valuer, you're trained to be a property professional. I worked in a variety of teams including property management, leasing and letting, valuation, lease renewals and rent reviews. It's only once you become a chartered surveyor do you decide which area of the business you want to specialise in. After my two-year training program, I knew valuations was for me and like many commercial valuers, I started out in the main sectors of office, retail and industrial.”
Rosie enjoys getting out of the office to meet with people and experience the built environments where we live, work and play to help inform her valuations.
Intuitively drawn to unravelling complexity
It wasn’t long before Rosie’s insightful approach to her work and natural curiosity steered her towards opportunities to value complex assets.“In the UK I was based in the Midlands which is renowned for being the home of British Motorsport. So, I’ve looked at quite a few assets related to the motorsport industry. I've been to a vehicle testing track, the Triumph Motorcycle factory in Hinckley, and a MotoGP design and testing facility.
“One of my most interesting valuation instructions during my time in the UK was valuing Martin-Baker's factory and design facility in Buckinghamshire. Martin-Baker is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ejector seats for the aviation industry. They supply ejection seats to something like 93 different air forces worldwide, have their own runway and in reception they keep a log of all ejections. There are more than you’d think.”
But it’s not all runways and racing tracks. Rosie recalled the intense safety regulations she had to adhere to when doing a valuation of an oil storage depot.
“I’ll always remember that one, they wouldn’t let you step on site until you had completed their health and safety test and the safety videos they showed me were very scary. I wasn't allowed to take my camera – we still used cameras in those days – on site because of the flash which was a fire risk. Any form of spark was absolutely prohibited.”
PBSA’s vital role in thriving communities
While sorting through the complexity of valuing unusual assets has always appealed to Rosie, it’s the role a valuer can play in improving how people in the community live that she is particularly passionate about.Considering Rosie’s empathetic approach to her work and genuine motivation to understand how people are impacted by the built environment, it’s not surprising she was drawn to the PBSA sector. Using her expertise to advise clients about the benefits of investing in PBSA, which has positive knock-on effects for the wider community, is one of the most satisfying aspects of Rosie’s role.
“I’ve always had an interest in the living component of real estate and PBSA caught my imagination because I can see how it can benefit so many. I could also see how there was a huge requirement for accommodation standards for students to be improved,” she said.
With 15 years’ of valuing PBSA in the UK, the opportunity to work in Australia’s emerging sector and drive growth was one of the factors behind Rosie’s decision to relocate from CBRE in the UK to a role in Sydney in 2017.
“I like the thought of improving standards across student accommodation because I’ve always felt this demographic is underrepresented in terms of having a voice. In the case of international students, they are a transient population that can't vote so I find the political factors tied to PBSA keeps me interested.”
“International students are generally young, possibly away from their home country for the first time. Sometimes, they are the first of their family to go to university so they can have a huge amount of pressure placed on them. Being able to play a small part in providing them with safe, high-quality housing gives me a sense of satisfaction.”
As well as providing accommodation to students, Rosie sees the wider positive impact PBSA has on the community.
“I deeply believe we need greater diversity in housing stock, we're not as far progressed in that area as we should be. When you create housing specifically for a demographic it means that you can tailor the physical product better to meet their specific needs and you're not trying to do a ‘one size fits all’ approach,” she explained.
“Having good, purpose built accommodation has benefits that flow through to wider society. The theory being, if you supply high-density bespoke housing for a particular demographic, in this instance students, then that frees up housing stock for other demographics to fill which is another reason I am so pro PBSA.”
Hidden perks of the job
Rosie Young enjoying a moment with an Aussie icon while valuing a wildlife park.
While taking an active role in the growing PBSA sector, including providing insight into CBRE’s Australian Student Accommodation Report which outlined how demand significantly outstrips supply, continues to be an important part of Rosie’s work she will always make time for other assets she loves.
As part of the hotel valuations team, her experience with unusual and complex assets has given Rosie the opportunity to visit some of Australia’s most iconic destinations including hotels at Uluru, Flinders Ranges, Barossa Valley and the island of Guam.
“Probably my favourite inspections to do are wildlife parks,” she said. “I got to feed a giraffe once and I had a photo with a koala while dressed in my full work gear. They are a nice asset to value. After I’ve done the formal part of my tour they usually let me stay for a bit longer so I can have another look around the park and see the animals. It’s great!”
