Once you become a REALTOR®, that's not the end of the story – not by a long shot! One of the reasons why Homesale Realty is successful in producing top real estate performers is this: We help our team members prepare and make the most of ongoing professional education.

In many fields, continuing education is considered kind of a drag. In real estate, it truly has the potential to accelerate your career by giving you all-new skills you could end up using every day. Although continuing education is a must in real estate, standards vary. Each state has its own expectations. Understanding the requirements and adapting to them is essential to your success.

Don't worry if you've never been a good test-taker: You're given plenty of time to meet your continuing education requirements. The challenge is to stay organized and get started promptly.

What's a Credit In Continuing Education?

When you look for real estate continuing education, you'll hear the terms "credit" or "credit hour" used a lot. These terms come from colleges, where they denote one hour in class each week for a semester. A college semester, in turn, is about fifteen weeks long.

Most of the time, you won't be going onto a campus to do continuing education in real estate. A wide range of different providers offer valid continuing education classes, and most of them are commercial businesses, not universities.

Online study is becoming common, too, which makes continuing education convenient.

Still, each continuing education credit must meet standards for rigor set by the state's body of real estate professionals. Professional associations in each state provide guidance about what vendors are qualified to give continuing education and what topics must be covered.

Let's look at requirements in two areas where BHHS Homesale Realty does business.

Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, new real estate licensees are expected to take 14 credits of continuing education in approved real estate courses during their first renewal cycle. In general, a renewal cycle ends on May 31 of every even-numbered year. This provides two years to complete coursework.

New licensees should double-check with the local Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® branch to ensure courses meet requirements. For continuing licensees, topics that must be covered can vary each cycle. For example, 2018-2020 must include work in advertising and property management.

In Pennsylvania, practicing REALTOR® members must complete at least 25 hours of Code of Ethics training during each two-year period. Some Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® branches have their own additional requirements to meet, too.

Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements in Maryland

The Maryland Real Estate Commission (MREC) oversees professional licensing in the real estate industry for Maryland. Real estate sales associates, associate brokers, brokers, and team leaders have specific continuing education requirements to remain in good standing.

Sales associates must perform a minimum of 15 hours of continuing education per renewal period in approved topics. Naturally, associates performing residential transactions, and those doing commercial transactions have different required topics.

As in Pennsylvania, a renewal period lasts two years. While required topics can vary based on the year and the licensee's professional role, all real estate licensees must complete three hours focused on real estate agency principles and disclosure.

With our team, real estate professionals at any level can work with mentors who will help them reach the next stage of growth faster. To find out more, contact BHHS Homesale Realty today.