The Association, as its purpose, serves and protects the public interest by regulating the practice of real estate appraisal and the governing of its members in accordance with the Real Estate Appraisers Act and the NSREAA bylaws. NSREAA is governed by an elected Board of Directors, which includes two lay members who are appointed for two-year terms by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

NSREAA currently has close to 250 members, including those who hold appraisal designations, as well as candidate members who are pursuing designations through the Appraisal Institute of Canada. Members who hold the Accredited Appraiser Canadian Institute (AACI) designation are qualified to perform appraisal on a wide range of real property – commercial, residential, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and investment. Those who hold the Canadian Residential Appraiser (CRA) designation are qualified in the appraisal of individual, undeveloped residential dwelling sites and dwellings containing not more than four self-contained housing units.