Real Estate Salesperson's Course

By JANINE OGIER

Claire Miller says to be successful you need to stand out because there are so many real estate agents. Picture / Amos Chapple

The course The Open Polytechnic offers the real estate salesperson's course on behalf of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, the governing body of the industry.

Students have to pass the course, then apply for a Certificate of Approval from the Real Estate Licensing Board, before they are eligible to lease or sell a house for a REINZ agency.

People can study by correspondence, through daytime classes at various venues (including four in Auckland), or at evening classes.

Correspondence enrolment allows students a year to complete the course, but generally they take three weeks.

Daytime classes are held over six four-hour sessions on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday over two weeks.

Evening classes involve eight three-hour sessions each Tuesday and Thursday night over four weeks.

People need to devote another 20-30 hours of study in their own time.

The next daytime classes in Auckland begin on September 6 and the next evening classes start on September 7.

Students take eight compulsory units. They learn about the governing bodies' roles and salesperson's duties; real estate law; property titles; establishing price ranges and completing listing forms; and developing plans to attract prospects for specific properties.

They learn about showing and presenting property and qualifying prospects; facilitating offers to buy or lease a property; closing, financing and after-sales service; and basic real estate marketing and how to build a client base.

Students complete three written assessments, undergo a progress review, and have a final face-to-face assessment with an industry assessor.

Fees for distance students total $285 including GST and an annual administration fee, while contact classes cost $335.

There is open entry to the course but to be a successful real estate salesperson you have to be self-motivated, enjoy contact with people and have the initiative to generate listings.

The course forms part one of the National Certificate in Real Estate and can be followed up with the other components.

Certificate graduates can pursue the National Diploma in Real Estate to specialise in a particular area of real estate and qualify as a branch manager or licensee.

What graduates think

Claire Miller, 30

Bayleys Real Estate

Papakura

Graduated 2003

"I've always had a love of real estate and houses.

I heard doing the one-on-one course was better than doing it by correspondence. I went to the two-week course.

It was a good mix between theory and practice, some role-playing, and the tutor was very approachable in helping with things you didn't understand.

The workload was easy to cope with but the course was not easy. It was quite challenging and there is a lot of homework.

A good thing is that you get a chance to re-submit your assignments if they are not up to scratch.

The course enabled you to be competent to come into a real estate office and have an understanding of how things work.

You've got to be very devoted and motivated. It is not something you can just go into on a whim.

To be successful you need to set a precedent as there are so many real estate agents out there - you need to stand out from the crowd. It can be seven days a week, 24 hours a day so you work very hard for your money."

What employers think

Stuart Christie

Sales manager

Bayleys Real Estate

Papakura

"The course follows a curriculum that is laid down by the Real Estate Institute and they follow it thoroughly.

They work through good live examples and have experienced tutors.

The main thing about the course is people learn the fundamentals - real estate is a highly regulated industry and the activities of agents are highly prescriptive.

People come into the office with a good grounding in the pieces of legislation that they confront day to day and some sound reference points on where they have to be cautious.

Any real estate company worth its salt carries out a lot of in-service training.

From Bayleys' point of view we put people through an extensive induction programme.

It depends on the individual, but people can hit the ground running. They have enough to start with and they can get huge leverage if their offices are very supportive when they come out."

The qualification

The Open Polytechnic

Phone: 0508 650 200

real.estate@openpolytechnic.ac.nz

Salary: Commission-based (depends on individual sales and listings)