When determining what Realtor continuing education programs will work best for you, it is important to understand the market conditions in your area. If your area is experiencing a high number of foreclosures, you might want to take courses designed to give you a better understanding of foreclosure procedures. If your company has listings in neighborhoods experiencing an increase in immigrant population, it may be a good idea to study a second language. You might want to consider broadening your range of expertise; for instance, if commercial real estate is your usual market, you may want to take courses in residential real estate. Realtor continuing education programs are often offered through community colleges or technical schools or through correspondence or online classes.
Realtor continuing education programs are often necessary so that Realtors can keep up with changes in regulations and laws concerning the buying and selling of real estate, but many people involved in real estate take additional courses to help them earn higher salaries. Some common Realtor continuing education programs involve market appraisal, real estate analysis and business management. Some real estate brokers pay their employees to take additional courses, so you should check with your employers to find out if this is a possibility.
It is a good idea for anyone selling real estate to have a better than average grasp of real estate values and the methodology used to calculate those values. For this reason, many Realtor continuing education programs are meant to expand areas associated with appraisal. Most Realtors learn the basics of property appraisals while studying for their real estate licensing, but it may be a good idea to broaden that knowledge base. Many real estate agents eventually get their license in real estate appraisal because the two areas are so intrinsically linked.
Some Realtors take courses so they can legally conduct real estate auctions. These classes are designed to teach sales people how to identify a property that could benefit from being sold through auction. In addition, auction courses will usually cover marketing strategies for auction sales.
Many Realtor continuing education programs are related to property management. Some people purchase real estate in order to lease it out to others, but in many cases, these property owners do not wish to take on ownership responsibilities. Instead, these owners hire a real estate agency to perform these duties for them. Property management typically involves all of the responsibilities normally attributed to the property owner, including acquiring tenants, collecting rents and managing upkeep. Having skills in this area can be particularly useful.
