Start Your New Career in New York Real Estate This Year

Your new career is waiting. Real estate is a smart move for anyone who’s unsatisfied with their professional path and looking for a change. Working in real estate opens the door to independence and puts you in control of your earning potential. There aren’t many career opportunities where you can earn a great living with such low barriers to entry.

New York State has an enormous and diverse real estate market. From globally-recognized, trending neighborhoods in Brooklyn to rising prices upstate, wherever you practice in New York, there are opportunities to find your niche and make a brand for yourself. These are just some of the trends you should know about New York State real estate before you get your license:

#1 Upstate Housing Prices

While Manhattan real estate has followed the high-end market to become a buyer’s market, upstate prices are still seeing relatively steady sales activity and prices according to NYSAR, the New York State Association of Realtors. Well into the end of 2018, median home prices continued a positive trend, which is great news for real estate agents who receive commission checks based on the price of houses.

#2 The Rise of Urban Suburbs

It may sound like an oxymoron, but the “urban suburb” is the hot new trend that’s going to shape real estate and development in the near future. Older and wealthier Millennials (the oldest of whom will be turning 40 in a few years) want the best of both worlds: the affordability and quality schools offered by suburbs, and the higher-density and walkability of cities.

As Millennials increasingly shape the real estate market, municipalities and developers are catering to their desires by building more walkable suburban cities. In New York State, places like Garden City and East Meadow on Long Island exemplify the new type of suburban city that Millennials are interested in buying into.

#3 Trends Continue to Drive NYC Real Estate

Manhattan may have turned into a buyer’s market, but in the boroughs, it’s all about location. Despite cooling across the NYC market as a whole, a number of Brooklyn neighborhoods continue to sizzle.

Developers, renters, and buyers alike are looking further afield in Brooklyn than they were just 10 or 15 years ago, largely because the location of jobs is evolving. Just a decade ago, most of Brooklyn was oriented toward jobs in Manhattan, but new employment clusters in Downtown Brooklyn have changed the commuting patterns. That’s brought new interest in neighborhoods like Coney Island, Crown Heights, Sheepshead Bay, Sunset Park, and others, with the attendant rising prices.

Williamsburg prices have actually gone down in anticipation of the L-train shutdown that never happened, but generally, trend-seekers are turning away from chic Williamsburg to places like Greenpoint, Long Island City, and Flatbush.

All in all, there’s something for everyone in real estate in New York State. Whether it’s your dream to sell classic suburban homes, appeal to a younger (and growing) homebuying demographic, or work with renters (a great way to get your start in real estate). Before you can find your niche, you need to complete the 75 hour real estate courses online and pass the state real estate license exam.

Here are all the steps you need to take sign up for online real estate classes and get your license.

Decide on Online vs. In-Person Classes

To become a real estate agent in New York, you must complete the 75 hour real estate courses required by the state. You can take these courses either online or in-person.

Taking the classes in-person may be a good idea if you:

• Want a regularly scheduled class to keep you on task
• Want face-to-face interactions with an instructor
• Want to meet fellow students

However, in-person classes tend to take longer (usually they’re structured to take about 8 weeks in total), they tend to be more expensive (since you’re also paying for the teacher’s salary and rent for the space in which classes take place), and you have to spend both time and money getting to classes.

Online classes are perfect if you:

• Want to save money
• Want to complete the 75 hour real estates courses in NY on your own time, with a flexible schedule that works for you
• Learn from engaging video lessons made by real estate professionals in New York

Taking the 75 hour real estate courses in NY from RealEstateU also gives you access to our 200-page PDF textbook, which you can use as a study resources to prepare for the NY state real estate exam. You can also get our exam prep course, which summarizes the key terms and concepts of the 75 hour real estate course, and provides you with practice exams and questions. Our NY real estate exam prep can save you as much as 90% of your study time.

Once you’ve decided whether to go online or take the classes in person, you will learn the fundamentals of real estate, including important terms, all the necessary paperwork and legal steps, and other essential information about selling real estate in the state of New York.

Next, you will have to complete an exam with your real estate school. Our online courses make sure you grasp the material before you advance, using quizzes at the end of each section to test your knowledge and competency. If you’ve made it through the coursework, you should be able to advance to the next important step: the NY real estate exam.

Register on eAccessNY with the state licensing department to take your test. In New York, you are only allowed two attempts to complete your real estate license exam, but if you’ve completed the 75 hour course and signed up for exam prep, you should be able to pass without too much difficulty. There is a small fee for taking the exam.

Last but not least, you need to find a sponsoring broker before your application for a license is complete. While you are an independent contractor who works for commissions, you essentially work under the supervision of your sponsoring broker and split your commission with them. Some brokers will give you 100% of your commission and only charge you for office space, others can provide you with resources like sales training and other resources to help you get your business growing in exchange for a larger share of your commission. Don’t be afraid to take interviews with multiple sponsoring brokers and do your research to find a broker with whom you can work well.

The Costs of Becoming a Real Estate Agent

A college education in New York state is expensive. The average in-state tuition is over $18,000 a year – it can take a lot of time and money to change careers by going to college. Becoming a real estate agent is barely a fraction of the cost of college.

Here are the costs when you complete the courses through RealEstateU:
 

• $99 for the 75 hour real estate course in NY
• $0 for the final exam (yes, it’s free at most proctoring locations)

Costs that everyone will face include:

• $15 to write the state exam
• $55 to apply for your license

In a matter of weeks, you can become a real estate agent and spend as little as $169.

When you’re self-employed and responsible for bringing in your own clients, you need all the money you can get to start up your business. You need a website, a marketing budget, and time to get your first commission check. Don’t get yourself into debt from college tuition – save your money for launching your business.

Becoming a Realtor in New York

The terms “real estate agent” and “realtor” are often used interchangeably, but they’re not quite the same thing. Once you’ve earned your real estate license, you may want to learn to become a realtor to improve your professional credibility and skills.

A realtor is a member of the NAR (National Association of Realtors). Not all realtors are real estate agents, as members may also be brokers, property managers, or real estate appraisers. For real estate agents, becoming a realtor means taking an online course about NAR’s ethics code and passing an exam. Realtors have earned their professional credibility by adhering to standards of practice that set them apart. Only about half of all real estate agents are members of NAR.

While NAR is the gold standard of professionalism in most of the U.S., NYC is just a little bit different. Rather than NAR, most real estate agents looking to take the next step join REBNY, which split from the NAR in 1994. REBNY has its own listing service similar to MLS, a private listing service shared by NYC brokers. It pays to pay attention to which brokers have access to essential listing services when you chose a sponsoring broker, but that’s something we can help you with when the time comes to find one.

The 75 hour real estate course is a smart way to pursue a new career with more independence and greater earning potential. Sign up today.