Real Estate Courses for Continuing Education

1) What Is Continuing Education in Real Estate?

Almost as soon as you receive your real estate agent or broker license, you should start planning for the real estate continuing education requirements your state has in place for license renewal. Other than New Jersey, every state expects real estate agents and brokers to regularly complete certain real estate courses in order to keep your real estate license current and legal.

Typically, the state-required real estate courses focus on legal and ethical topics that can change over time and are essential for agents and brokers to understand. Each state establishes its own licensing and continuing education (CE) requirements, typically determined by that state's real estate commission, Department of Real Estate, or professional licensing department.

Even outside of the legal requirements, continuing education should be an important focus for your career. As a real estate professional, you must stay on top of the financial, legal, ethical, and marketing skills necessary to be successful as the real estate market grows more and more complex.

With a rapidly changing market and increased competition, relevant real estate courses become extremely important to a real estate agent or broker's ability to serve his clients and enhance his career.

2) Continuing Education Requirements for Real Estate Professionals

Typically, you can obtain real estate training and continuing education by attending a traditional real estate school or online real estate courses, which have become more and more popular in recent years. Most states' real estate departments work with education providers to approve various courses that meet their requirements for license renewal.

Every state's continuing education requirements are different. Some states require renewal every year, while others require it every four years. Check with your state's real estate commission, Department of Real Estate, or professional licensing department to determine what is required where you live.

Real estate topics such as legal changes, discrimination issues, and ethical concerns are commonly required subjects for continuing education. States almost never approve sales, marketing, and computer skill courses for CE credit. Following are examples of continuing education and license renewal requirements for several states:

• California Real Estate License: Renewal is required every four years. The real estate professional must complete 45 clock hours of CE that covers very specific topics including: ethics, agency, trust fund handling, fair housing, risk management, and consumer protection.

• New York Real Estate License: Real estate license renewal is required every two years and is accomplished by completing 22.5 clock hours of continuing education. The required topics are currently much more lenient than California, specifically requiring only three hours of fair housing education. Other courses may be taken based on your needs and interests, as long as they are approved.

• Texas Real Estate License: 15 hours of Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) are required every two years for Texas real estate license renewal. If you work and live in Texas, three hours of your MCE must be a Texas Real Estate Commission TREC Legal Update and another three hours must be a specific course focused on Texas Real Estate Commission ethics issues.

Real estate schools locally or on the Web that have been approved by your state's agency should offer the brick-and-mortar or online real estate courses necessary for license renewal. If you have any question about an education provider, contact the state agency to confirm that they are approved to provide continuing education.

3) What Can You Do With a Current Real Estate License?

Real estate can be subject to the economy's ups and downs, but a skilled professional can weather the storms and take advantage of the good times. Real estate experts with active licenses can perform a variety of roles:

• Real estate agents are licensed by the state to handle real estate sales.

• Real estate brokers may take on the responsibility for managing several real estate agents or own a real estate company. A separate real estate license is usually required to become a broker.

• Real estate appraisers work to establish the appropriate and accurate value of a home being sold. You must obtain a separate real estate appraiser's license to work as an appraiser.

• Property managers work on a larger scale to manage buildings such as apartments, hospitals, or commercial properties.

4) Salary Estimates for Real Estate Professionals

Salaries for those in real estate can fluctuate widely from month to month and year to year. In addition to a particular individual's skills, compensation can also vary based on the real estate market location, market conditions, experience, and commission structure.

However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the 2008 mean annual salaries for various real estate professionals as follows:

• Real estate agent: $54,410
• Real estate brokers: $77,240
• Real estate Appraisers: $53,410
• Property managers: $56,250

5) Skills of Successful Real Estate Professionals

By attending real estate school and furthering your education with continuing education courses, you can obtain the knowledge and skills you need to thrive in real estate. In turn, well equipped real estate professionals are in good positions to increase their opportunities for compensation. The professional expertise you can gain through real estate courses will supplement your own character and personality traits.

The skills you can expect to gain through real estate training include:

• Expertise in local demographics, real estate trends, and tax law
• Organization and the ability to work well with details
• Networking and marketing within the community
• Networking with other Realtors, brokers, and mortgage professionals
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well with others
• Maturity and persistence to keep going even in a tough market

6) Maintaining Your Real Estate License

Every real estate agent and broker in the United States must obtain a real estate license and keep it current in order to work. Although renewal requirements vary from state-to-state (see "Continuing Education Requirements for Real Estate Professionals" above), nearly every renewal process requires you to take at least one real estate course to renew your real estate license. Given the availability of quality continuing education, including online real estate courses, meeting those requirements should be simple for most real estate professionals.