Is there a Real Estate Exam Prep Program I can Take?

Completing real estate school was a feat in and of itself. Now, there’s only one thing standing between you and your future as a real estate agent: Passing your state’s real estate exam. With so much pressure put on one test, proper real estate exam prep is essential.

There are real estate exam programs that you can take to ensure you pass the test. CE Shop, Colibri Real Estate, and Mbition offer national online exam prep programs with practice tests and flashcards. Most states require a 70-75% score to pass, so take online tests until you consistently earn 90%+.

Another option is PrepAgent, a online exam prep system that is specifically designed to help you pass the test. It features a flexible subscription model.

You want to walk into the testing center on your big day with confidence, and you want to walk out with a passing score and a smile on your face. To learn how to prepare for the real estate exam through real estate exam prep programs, read on.

What’s On the Real Estate Exam

The real estate exam is one of the most difficult career-based tests that you can take in America. In some states, the exam’s pass rate hovers between a dismal 45% and 55%. 

Exactly what’s on the real estate exam will depend on the state in which you live. But in general, you should expect up to 150 multiple-choice questions in total. The majority will be national real estate concepts — like Fair Housing laws and types of property ownership — and there will be a section on state concepts — like environmental regulations and salesperson requirements.

The test takes 2 to 4 hours to complete in most cases.

Keep in mind that most states will require a 70% to 75% on the test to earn a “passing” score. If you happen to fail, even by just one question, you’ll have to retake the entire exam another day.

Unfortunately, real estate school is about meeting your state’s education requirements for all real estate agents, not training you to pass the exam. That’s why an exam prep program is vital.

Best Real Estate Exam Prep Options

Preparing for the real estate exam via a real estate exam prep program can be a little complicated. There are tons of these programs available online, but many of these programs focus on the exam’s national portion. While that’s important for acing most of your test, you want to choose a prep program tailored to your state’s exam as well.

On the national scale, here are a few of the more popular prep programs:

• Colibri Real Estate: This program is designed to help you pass your exam on the first try (or your money back). The program comes with ten practice tests, several national and state exams (for your chosen state), and flashcards to review each concept.
• The CE Shop: This program offers lessons at both the national and state level, insight into which topics you need to focus a little more attention on, and as many practice exams as you’d like.
• Mbition: This program is ARELLO-approved and meet the educational requirements established by your stat. It is meant to help you with the national portion of the real estate exam. You’ll be given access to the real estate sample test questions, which will essentially prepare you for any question the exam might throw your way.

All of these programs are online, so you’ll be able to work on exam prep whenever it fits your schedule. Fortunately, many real estate schools also offer their own exam prep courses, which can help you focus a little more on the state questions.

It’s also a good idea to refer to the PSI website for real estate exam prep, as PSI administers the real estate exam in many states. The company offers practice real estate exams for a few states as of right now. These practice tests can give you a glimpse into the PSI real estate exam questions that you might end up seeing on your test.

Prep Agent on YouTube is a great resource for practicing for your real estate exam. Below, you’ll see a video going over some questions you may see on the exam:

Real Estate Exam Prep Tips

As soon as you complete real estate school, the first thing you’ll want to do is schedule your exam and get to studying. Real estate school is vital for understanding real estate concepts, but it doesn’t prepare you to sit for a 3+ hour test with 150 multiple-choice questions.

A real estate exam prep program is essential, so here are a few tips to make sure you get the most out of these programs and pass that test the first time.

Choose the Right Prep Program

The real estate exam prep program that you choose can be the difference between a passing score and having to retake the test. Most importantly, you want to make sure that the prep program you’re selecting has an online test module. A module that offers unlimited testing and question banks will help to prepare you the most.

This set-up will mimic the actual test (which is online in many states). As a result, this can allow you to see what types of questions you may be asked and help you figure out which topics you need to review a little more. If you’re still struggling with a few key ideas, a prep program that comes with video lessons or topic flashcards may be more useful.

Practice Makes Perfect

You’ll need to score at least 70% on your real estate exam to be eligible for your salesperson license, but you want to ensure that you’re scoring well above that. When test day comes, and your nerves get the best of you, it’s not unusual to flub a few questions on topics you were sure of the night before. 

It’s in your best interest to take advantage of all of the free tests that your real estate prep program offers. Take the tests, retake them, and then take them again until you can score a 90%+ consistently. That way, when you’re sitting at the computer on test day, you can afford to miss a few questions without putting you at risk for failing.

Pay Close Attention to the Details

All real estate exams are a multiple-choice format, which you’ll either see as really good news or really bad news. It’s good news in one sense: For questions about mortgage rates or leasing terms, seeing the numbers in the answers choices means you can do the math working backward. On the other hand, you can’t explain your way out of the questions with an essay. 

One of the best ways to tackle this problem is by reading the questions in detail. In essence, skimming the questions for the key terms won’t be enough. The last thing you want to do is see the term “tenancy” and assume the question is about “joint tenancy” instead of “tenancy in common.” As you practice with your prep program, read every word in questions and answers.

Focus on Your Weaknesses

You feel confident in your knowledge of the different types of leases and certain land rights like easements and encroachments. Confidence in certain topics is essential, but there are only many questions on the test for each topic. That’s why you should be focusing your prep on the topics you aren’t so confident in. 

Many online exam programs will give you insight into how you performed on the test and the correctness of each topic. So if you see that you’re only getting 60% correct in the area of public land use, that’s where you should be centering your attention. 

Conclusion

Taking the real estate exam is nerve-wracking, as it’s the only thing stopping you from affiliating with a brokerage and getting your real estate career off the ground. Before you register to take your real estate exam, enroll in a real estate exam prep program to ensure that you’re ready. 

Take the practice tests repeatedly, focus on areas you’re less confident in, focus on the minor details, and then register for the test when you can consistently earn a 90%+ on all tests.