Mesa Market Mojo Report December 2014

First, You Pass a Test

I remember taking the California real estate exam in 1977. The test took a couple of hours down in Los Angeles with hundreds of people in huge rooms. Afterward, as I walked out, there were people hoping to debrief us to find out if the test takers could remember specific questions. They wrote down any snippets that could be recalled. These people worked for testing companies that published preparation exams. They wanted their prep exams to be as close to the real thing as possible. Today they research these preparation tests differently, but it is still big business to prepare people for the real estate exam.

I passed the first time for both the sales and broker licenses. However, many people are not so lucky. Average passing rates according to the State of California are about 50 percent for sales and 40 percent for broker licenses. To maintain a CA license, Realtors must take 48 hours of classes with exams, every four years.

In Santa Barbara there are about 1150 active Realtors, 182 are brokers, and the balance are sales people. Locally our Association of Realtors has about 20 out-of-area members who occasionally do business here. We have about 85 affiliates who offer services to Realtors, but who cannot sell homes – such as insurance agents, contractors, appraisers, and architects.

Client Talk

“Special thanks for guiding all that work that had to done before going on the market.”

– Paula Dengler