How to Pass the Real Estate Exam: A 14-Day Plan

How long does it take to study for the real estate exam?

After your pre-licensing course, about two weeks of an hour a day for the national portion, plus the time your state portion needs. Start with a full mock so you know where the two weeks should go.

A 14-day plan for the national portion
Days	What to do
Day 1	Take a full 80-question mock on the 120-minute clock. Note your score in each of the nine areas.
Days 2 to 3	Contracts: elements, void and voidable, offer, counteroffer and acceptance, contingencies, options, breach. Contracts drill.
Days 4 to 5	Agency: creating agency, fiduciary duties, dual and designated agency, disclosures. Agency drill.
Day 6	Real estate math: every formula in the table on the math page. Math drill.
Day 7	Practice of real estate: fair housing, trust money, antitrust, leases and property management. Practice drill.
Day 8	A second full mock on new questions. Redo every miss so far.
Days 9 to 10	Property ownership, land use and transfer of title. Their drills.
Days 11 to 12	Financing and valuation, then a second math drill.
Day 13	A third full mock. If it clears 75%, book; if not, drill the weakest area again.
Day 14	Your state's law from your course material, and the candidate handbook's rules for exam day.

Every question here is on the national portion and real estate math. Your state portion tests your state's own license law, which these questions do not cover: learn it from your pre-licensing course and the commission's handbook.

What should I study first for the real estate exam?

Contracts and agency. Pearson VUE's combined contracts-and-agency area is its largest at 16 of 80 items, and on PSI's outline contracts (19%) and agency (13%) are the top two. The scenarios in other areas often turn on them too.

Our mock's weights, largest first
Area	Questions in our mock	What it covers
Practice of real estate	15	Fair housing, advertising rules, antitrust, trust accounts, licensee conduct, leasing and property management, and RESPA basics
Contracts	14	Valid, void and voidable contracts, offer and acceptance, earnest money, contingencies, options, listing agreements, breach and remedies
Agency and disclosures	11	Creating and ending agency, fiduciary duties, dual and designated agency, material facts, lead-based paint and environmental disclosures
Property ownership	8	Real versus personal property, fixtures, estates and freehold versus leasehold, forms of co-ownership, legal descriptions, easements, liens and encroachments
Financing	8	Mortgages and notes, loan types (conventional, FHA, VA), points and APR, lien theory, foreclosure, federal lending law and the closing disclosure
Valuation and market analysis	7	Market value versus price, the three approaches to value, comparative market analysis, adjustments, depreciation and the appraisal process
Real estate math	7	Commission splits, prorations, loan-to-value, amortisation, area, capitalisation rate, transfer tax and net to seller
Transfer of title	6	Deeds and their warranties, delivery and acceptance, recording and notice, title insurance, adverse possession, wills and closing
Land use controls	4	Police power, zoning and variances, nonconforming use, eminent domain, taxation, escheat, deed restrictions and subdivision rules

Practice of real estate tops our table because it also carries leasing and property management; study it third. Fair housing alone decides several questions, and the rules are fixed: seven federal protected classes, no exceptions for an agent, and a duty to refuse an illegal instruction from a client.

What are the most common real estate exam mistakes?

Picking the neighbouring term: voidable where the contract is void, a variance where the use is nonconforming, steering where it is blockbusting. Most wrong options are a real term from the same topic, so learn the pairs.

Ten pairs of terms people confuse
Pair	The difference
Void vs voidable	A void contract was never enforceable (illegal purpose). A voidable one is valid until the protected party chooses to end it (a minor, fraud).
Easement appurtenant vs in gross	Appurtenant runs with the land and needs two parcels (dominant and servient). In gross benefits a person or company, such as a utility line.
Encroachment vs easement	An encroachment is an unauthorised intrusion (a fence over the line). An easement is a right to use.
Variance vs nonconforming use	A variance is permission to break a zoning rule for a hardship. A nonconforming use existed lawfully before the zoning changed.
General vs special warranty deed	General warrants against defects for the whole history of title. Special warrants only against defects during the grantor's ownership.
Joint tenancy vs tenancy in common	Joint tenants have the right of survivorship and need the four unities. Tenants in common can hold unequal shares and leave them by will.
Steering vs blockbusting	Steering channels buyers toward or away from areas by protected class. Blockbusting pushes owners to sell by warning that a protected class is moving in.
Puffing vs misrepresentation	Puffing is obvious opinion ("a great view"). Misrepresentation is a false statement of material fact.
Actual vs constructive notice	Actual notice is what a person knows or was told. Constructive notice is what the law presumes they know, such as recorded documents.
Express vs implied agency	Express agency is stated in words, oral or written. Implied agency arises from how the parties act.

Real Estate Exam-style question 1 · Void and voidable
Which of these contracts is void rather than voidable?
1. AA lease of a building for running an illegal gambling operation
2. BA purchase contract signed by a 17-year-old buyer
3. CA sale signed because the seller was threatened
4. DA sale induced by the seller's misrepresentation of the roof's age
Worked answer
A: A lease of a building for running an illegal gambling operation. A contract with an illegal purpose is void: it never had legal effect and neither party can enforce it. The others are voidable: valid until the protected party (the minor, the threatened seller, the misled buyer) chooses to end them.
1. Ask whether an essential element is missing.
2. An illegal purpose means no legal purpose: void.
3. Minors, duress and misrepresentation give one party a choice: voidable.
The trap: Calling a minor's contract void. The minor may cancel it, but until then it binds the adult.
Real Estate Exam-style question 2 · Antitrust
Two brokerages in a town agree that one will take listings only north of the river and the other only south of it. What is this?
1. AMarket allocation, an antitrust violation
2. BA legal referral agreement
3. CPrice fixing
4. DA group boycott
Show the worked answer
A: Market allocation, an antitrust violation. Competitors agreeing to divide a market by territory or customers is market allocation, illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Price fixing would be agreeing on fees; a group boycott would be agreeing not to deal with a competitor.
1. Two competitors, one agreement.
2. They split the area between them.
3. Dividing a market is market allocation.
The trap: Calling it price fixing. Nothing here sets a fee; it divides territory.
Real Estate Exam-style question 3 · Loan disclosures
A borrower applies for a mortgage on a Monday. Under the TILA-RESPA rule (TRID), when must the lender deliver or mail the Loan Estimate?
1. AWithin 3 business days of the application
2. BAt least 3 business days before closing
3. CAt closing
4. DWithin 30 days of the application
Show the worked answer
A: Within 3 business days of the application. The Loan Estimate goes out within 3 business days of receiving the application. The Closing Disclosure is the one the borrower must receive at least 3 business days before closing.
1. Which form? The Loan Estimate, the early one.
2. Its deadline counts from the application.
3. Within 3 business days.
The trap: Swapping the two 3-day rules. The Loan Estimate is 3 business days after the application; the Closing Disclosure is 3 business days before closing.

Follow the plan with the right questions

Six full 80-question mocks and four drills per area, every answer explained.

The Real Estate Exam Pass Pack gives you 6 full mocks on the real clock, 36 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The Real Estate Exam Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the Real Estate Exam Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

6
timed mocks: 36
topic drills: 1
score predictor

How should I use real estate practice tests?

As a map, not a score. Every miss points to a rule, so write the rule down, drill that area, and only then take another full mock on new questions.

Take the first full mock before you review much. It tells you whether you need a week or a month, and which area to start with. The free real estate exam practice test scores each area separately.

Then drill one area at a time: agency, contracts and practice on this page; ownership, land use and title on the real estate license exam guide; math, financing and valuation on the real estate math practice test. Do not retake the same questions to see a better number; use new ones.

What should I do on real estate exam day?

Bring the ID your handbook asks for, arrive early, read every "except" and "not" twice, and answer every question, because unscored pretest items are hidden among them and a blank scores nothing.

Read your state's candidate handbook the week before: it lists the ID you need, what you may bring (often a basic calculator) and when to arrive.
The national portion gives you 120 to 150 minutes for about 80 questions, more than a minute and a half each. Most people finish with time to spare.
Name the client first in every agency question, and the missing element first in every contract question.
For math, write the formula before the numbers, and estimate before you choose.
Flag a hard question and come back; answer everything before time runs out.

What happens after I pass the real estate exam?

You finish the license application with your state, usually with a sponsoring broker, before your results expire. Then you are licensed and can work toward your first closing.

If you do not pass, the retake rules for each state are on real estate exam passing score. Most states let you retake only the portion you failed. Use the score report to find the weak area and drill it on new questions before you rebook. More practice questions, each with its trap, are on real estate exam sample questions.

Frequently asked questions

Is the real estate exam hard?

It is exact more than it is hard. Most points go on terms that sound alike and on rules with one condition that changes the answer. New York reported a 53% pass rate on its own salesperson exam.

Is the pre-licensing course enough to pass?

It teaches the material. A timed practice test shows which parts did not stick, which the course cannot do on its own.

What is the hardest part of the real estate exam?

For most people, contracts and agency, because they carry the most questions and turn on fine distinctions. The math is the most learnable part.

Should I study the national or state portion first?

The national portion is bigger and the same across states, so start there; leave the last days before the exam for your state's numbers and rules, while they are fresh.

What happens if I fail?

In most states you retake only the portion you failed, pay the fee again and book a new slot. Some states cap attempts or set a wait.

Book the exam when you are ready

Six full real estate exam-style mocks, four drills per area and every answer explained, for one payment.