How to obtain your real estate license

To obtain a real estate salesperson license, you must first qualify for and pass a written examination. Those who pass the examination are provided a license application which must be submitted to and approved by the DRE.

This license is required of individuals who conduct licensed real estate activities as described in the Real Estate Law under the supervision of a licensed broker. A license may also be obtained by a person who does not immediately intend to be employed by a broker. However, a salesperson without an responsible broker may not perform acts requiring a real estate license.

General Requirements

• Age: You must be 18 years of age or older to be issued a license.
• Residence: If you are not a California resident, see Out-of-State Applicants.
• Honesty: Applicants must be honest and truthful. Conviction of a crime may result in the denial of a license.

Course Requirements

Successful completion of three college-level courses is required to qualify for a real estate salesperson examination:

1. Real Estate Principles, and
2. Real Estate Practice, and
3. One course from the following list:
   • Real Estate Appraisal
   • Property Management
   • Real Estate Finance
   • Real Estate Economics
   • Legal Aspects of Real Estate
   • Real Estate Office Administration
   • General Accounting
   • Business Law
   • Escrows
   • Mortgage Loan Brokering and Lending
   • Computer Applications in Real Estate
   • Common Interest Developments

Additional Information

Members of the California State Bar are statutorily exempt from the college-level course requirements. Evidence of admission to practice Law in California must be furnished, such as a photocopy of both sides of a California State Bar membership card.

Also, applicants who submit evidence of having completed the eight statutory college-level courses required for the broker examination and license are eligible to take the salesperson examination without submitting further evidence of experience or education.

Continuing education offerings do not satisfy the college-level course requirements for this examination.

Courses must be three semester-units or four quarter-units at the college level. Courses must be completed at an institution of higher learning accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or by a comparable regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, or by a private real estate school which has had its courses approved by the California Real Estate Commissioner. Each course approved by the Department of Real Estate is a minimum of 45 hours in length.

• Search for approved statutory/pre-license real estate courses

Courses completed through foreign institutions of higher learning must be evaluated by a foreign credentials evaluation service approved by the Department of Real Estate. See Examination Applicant Foreign Education Information (RE 223)

Copies of official transcripts are generally acceptable evidence of completed courses. Transcripts of equivalent courses submitted as substitutes for the college-level courses listed above must be supported by an official course or catalog description in order to be evaluated for equivalency.

The real estate agent career path is a lucrative career path acknowledged by many, but only few truly make the decision to pursue it. Whether you are a mid-career switcher going all in, fresh grad looking at job prospects or anywhere in between, there are a few processes that one must go through (such as the dreaded Real Estate Salesperson exams) that you will need to complete. But you’re in luck, we’re here to give you the lowdown on how to get your real estate career started in Singapore. Read on to find out more!

Step 1: Register and attend the RES Course 

There are several course providers that offer the Real Estate Salesperson course; treat it like lessons that you need to go through in order to learn all the material needed for the exam. Ensure that the course is CEA approved as these are the only ones that are recognised before you can take the exam! Be prepared to shell out around $700-800 for just the course itself (the price varies between courses so do check out their fees before signing up!)

For financial subsidies, NTUC members enjoy $250 off the entire course through the UTAP (Union Training Assistance Programme) grant.

PROTIP: Register for your RES course towards the end of the year and take the RES Exam at the start of the next year to capitalise on the UTAP grant for both the course and exam! (You can only use the UTAP grant once a year, thank us later)

Additionally, if you are a Singaporean/PR above the age of 25, you can check your SkillsFuture account for up to $500 worth of credits to offset the course fees as well.

Real Estate agents come from many walks of life, however there are some course requirements that you need to take note of:

• Be at least 21 years of age at the time of registering for the RES Course.

• Applicant must possess one of the following local approved qualifications:

  • a minimum GCE ‘O’/’A’ level with 4 Passes, OR

  • Diploma from local polytechnics: NYP/NP/SP/TP/RP, OR

  • Degree from local universities: NUS/NTU/SIT/SMU/SUTD/SUSS,  OR

  • recognised Master National ITE Cert (Master Nitec) / Higher National ITE Cert (Higher Nitec), OR

  • Workplace Literacy & Numeracy (WPLN) Assessment Level 5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening & Numeracy

With that out of the way, this 8-day long course will give you the lowdown about the rules and regulations governing property agency work and practices. You will also get schooled on Singapore’s laws in the buying, selling and renting of HDB flats, private apartments and condominiums, commercial business spaces and industrial properties.

2. Sit for the RES Exam

So you have absorbed all the information, now what? Like a semester in school, after the teaching weeks come the exams and assessments. The exams are usually held three times a year, in March, July and November (but they are subject to change depending on prevailing COVID-19 measures). You will also need to achieve a course attendance of at least 75% to be able to sit for the exam, this is to make sure that students are sufficiently taught the basics before getting your knowledge tested!

PropertyLimBrothers knows the stress and anxiety that exam-takers face when preparing for the RES exams. And being alone throughout all this, can make it arduous. Hence, we have created a framework that guides exam takers on the best preparation methods and revision materials to get them ready for the exams! Click here to learn more about homeSKOOL by PLB.

The exam is split into Papers 1 & 2 and each paper consists of:

• Section A: 50 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) – 1 mark each

• Section B: 15 MCQ with reference to 1 or 2 Case Studies – 2 marks each

• Section C: 10 Fill in the Blank Short Answer Questions (SAQs) – 2 marks each

Exam fees are stated as above and in the event you fail either paper one or two, you will have to pay to resit the exam again.

There are many horror stories about people dropping everything to pursue their real estate career dream and end up failing and losing motivation. We break down if it is really that hard to pass the exams on the first try here.

3. Register with an Agency

You should receive your exam results between 4-6 weeks after taking your exam, and if you have passed, congratulations! That was no easy feat, and now you will get to choose which agency you will want to sign under.

The property agency that you decide to join will usually assist in the application via CEA’s e-services and it will take CEA approximately four to six weeks to approve an application.

• Real Estate Agent Registration Fee: $53.50 + $230 annual CEA fees = $283.50

• Professional Indemnity Insurance: $120

• Agency levied admin fees for name cards/ID Tag/Start Up Course/Admin fees: $300-$500 range.

The three biggest agencies in Singapore are Propnex, ERA and OrangeTee & Tie which is where most real estate agents end up due to their long standing reputation in Singapore.

(FYI, PropertyLimBrothers is an independent group under the independent associate umbrella of Propnex!)

Do your due diligence to check which agency will provide you with the necessary training and upskill opportunities as well as mentorship and support systems which are essential for new agents. The culture of the agency is equally as important, as different people and mentors have different working styles, so ask around and have a feel of which complements you the best!

If you complete all the steps in this article, you are a full-fledged agent who is ready to go into the field. However, your journey has just started and there will be many hurdles that you will face along the way. From marketing yourself, learning tricks of the trade and presentation skills to engage your client, there is so much more to learn beyond the textbooks of your RES course, and making a sale. PropertyLimBrothers is here to help agents like you to unlock your maximum potential, and change the property landscape. We are always on the lookout for new agents to take under own wing and show you our way of doing #RealEstatewithIntegrity. Click here to learn more about our Sales Internship Programme, and we’ll see you around (soon)!

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