No agent left behind: improving real estate education standards
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This article proposes making the Department of Real Estate (DRE’s) licensing education requirements more rigorous in an effort to better prepare licensees to protect and serve real estate consumers.
The days of feared ignorance need be gone
During the height of the Millennium Boom, becoming a real estate agent was known as a quick way to make money. The high volume of home sales, skyrocketing home prices and rampant speculation by flippers as second home buyers kept business booming in brokerage offices across the nation. By dedicating a few weeks to studying and passing the state licensing exam, anyone over 18 could represent buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in complex transactions involving large sums of money — and collect fat fees for doing so.
Now, the economic tides have receded and so has employment in the real estate industry. Buyers struggle to qualify for purchase-assist financing and one in six listings on the multiple listing service (MLS) is a shortsale. While seasoned brokers with a wealth of experience possess the skills (and cash reserves) to weather economic downturn, newly licensed individuals often have no idea what to do. Those who sped through their pre-licensing education have no well of knowledge (or cash) from which to draw.
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About The Author
ft Editorial Staff
is the writing staff comprised of legal editor Fred Crane, In-House Broker Consultant Fernando Nunez and writer-editors Connor P. Wallmark, Giang Hoang-Burdette, Jeffery Marino, Carrie B. Reyes, Sarah Cantino, Matthew Taylor, Matthew Shade and Nicole Jessen.
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Gentlepersons, as usual, your articles are excellent real estate brokerage journalism…I applaud your commentary and ideas.
Regarding continued improvement for real estate education for the agent/broker. Interesting, that prior to the early sixties, as I began my brokerage career, DRE required a two year salesman’s license term of “full time” employment prior to “sitting” for the broker’s exam.
It was necessary for employing broker(s) to affirm a minimum forty hour week for two years preceding the exam application. This confirming a time element was assumed to be field experience mentoring and apprentice orientation {even given the very unsophisticated and sparse teaching-learning academic curriculum and methods of the time} for the new broker applicant. USC offered a Bacholors in real estate finance, and UC & UCLA offered only Real Estate Certificate extension courses. No California junior colleges (now – community colleges) offered any real estate specific courses until the late sixties.
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I like the idea of more education, but passing the test for a RE license s/b the extent. No apprenticeship will provide any benefits except allow lazy brokers to profit more off of others entering the field. Its already difficult for RE agents to make money. I would not vote for the suggestions indicated by First Tuesday.
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A new Broker should absolutely have 2 years experience and training before taking the Brokers exam.
A Real Estate degree on the level of an AA from a Jr collage would be a good idea also.
Most 2 or 4 year Graduates don’t know their head from their Red Solo Cup and absolutely need to have experience to be a Qualified R.E. Broker.
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“Just as attorneys must go to graduate school before earning their license designation…”
Right now a lawyer gets a real estate license just for the asking – he needs to pass the exam but that’s it. Does that infer that those with a real estate degree should be allowed to sit for the bar and then practice law?
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very helpful
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the article was very helpful
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