The DRE requires that you maintain a consistent level of awareness through education in order to keep your real estate license active. This helps to ensure that you are better able to serve your clients and is referred to as “continuing education.” While continuing education is clearly the one facet of learning that must be taken seriously in order to keep your license in good standing, it is but one of the educational opportunities available to real estate professionals.

There are four categories of education to consider: continuing education (required hours), designation training, technology training, and real estate or sales related seminars and training.  It is important to understand the various means of professional improvement that are available to you and to realize how greatly they can contribute to your success in real estate sales. It is equally important to recognize that continuing education hours will result in a better overall understanding, awareness, and skill in your chosen profession.

Continuing Education

Not unlike other professions, the real estate industry requires that sales associates and brokers maintain a certain level of knowledge and awareness as it relates to the way they do business. To verify that these professionals stay smart about the industry there is a universal requirement for earning continuing education hours. Continuing education hours are courses that have been approved by the Department of Real Estate in each state and are deemed vitally important in assuring real estate licensees maintain a high standard of professionalism.

While the Department of Real Estate is a state-run entity that can vary significantly from one state to another, the majority of states require continuing educational hours be met by its real estate license holders. Unfortunately, many licensees wait until the last minute, then, in a frantic rush, scurry to earn the hours they need to renew their license. In addition to the unnecessary stress this invites (not to mention potential fines for late renewals) licensees do themselves a great injustice because it is more difficult to retain information that is learned under pressure, hence, many key components that could contribute to their professional productivity are lost in the frenzy.

The important fact to remember is this: Continuing education should be considered as a valid and worthy educational avenue for real estate professionals who plan on staying ahead of the game. Many top producers agree.

When asked what advice established agents could offer new comers, continuing education, by choice, was one of the most popular answers.  Successful REALTORS® realize that in an ever-evolving industry, staying smart includes on-going educational efforts. Doesn’t it make sense then that responsible and effective real estate professionals will want to take as many of these courses as possible?

As noted early, educational requirements vary from state to state. A general guideline is that new licensees will need to take an additional two courses within a certain time frame. These courses might be, for example, accounting business law, or something similar. Additional course work will serve to contribute to your continued success. Then, approximately every fours following, you will be required to complete the standard 45-hours of continuing educational hours.

There will usually be options as to how to take these courses. Correspondence study and live lecture have been the most common and many states are now recognizing the value of on-line training-which is an extremely convenient alternative.

After completion of the requisite courses and following the proper procedure, the real estate license will be renewed. Some of the basic continuing education courses fall under the heading of Consumer Protection, Agency, Ethics, Trust Fund Management, and Fair Housing.  Local associations of agents are among the best resources for learning the various options and requirements that may exist in each state and we will discuss the importance of being involved in organized real estate in the next chapter of the course.

Remember though, while continuing education is a requirement to keep real estate licenses in good standing with the state, it is also an excellent opportunity to learn to be a more effective agent or broker. Top producers from all over the country agree that taking more continuing education than is necessary helped contribute to their success.  On-going continuing education is the smartest choice of all.

Designations

In the real estate industry, many agents have earned the initials of respected designations on their business cards.  These designations represent a variety of things, but the one caveat is that they must be earned before they can be promoted. Real estate designations may be equated to earning mini-college degrees. These designations are very specific to the real estate industry, yet they require efforts that result in a more informed, professional licensee, ready and willing to provide their clients with exceptional service and skill.  Let’s take a look now at some of the most common designations and what they mean. With growing areas of specialization and specific group affiliations, this list is by no means exhaustive and you can refer to the appendix for additional resources.

For more info on Designations available locally and online, visting your local Association. Find your State Association and from their you can find your Local one.