How long to become a real estate agent

How Long Does It Take To Become A Real Estate Agent?

So you may want to become a real estate agent but wonder how long the process will take to get licensed and start working in the industry as a salesperson or property manager, or property-related job.

So how long does it take to become a real estate agent in Australia?

For entry-level/beginners: on average, it will take 1-2 months.

For more experienced agents or those who want to become fully licensed, it will take anywhere between 1-4 months on average + any experience requirements.

These figures take into account the time it will take to finish your course on average and the additional time to apply to the government regulator to get approved.

Your experience may vary; as there are a lot of factors that could influence that amount of time.

Some entry-level courses are only 5 units (which take a lot less time to complete!), while some require up to 18 units, it all depends on your state or territory of operation.

If you’re not sure which course you are required to complete, see our free real estate career pathfinder tool.

We give an average completion duration range for all our real estate courses, which can be found on each course page on our website.

Become a working real estate agent

Why does it take anywhere between 1-4 months?

There are a couple of aspects to consider:

First is the time it takes to meet the learning/educational requirements, i.e. how long will it take to complete the real estate course, which allows you to apply to the government regulator.

Second, you have the time it takes to apply to the regulator and then obtain approval.

How long does it take to meet the educational requirements?

The most common question we hear is how long the course will take to finish.

Course lengths vary widely depending on which state or territory you are located and planning to work in.

In Australia, we’ve got separate states and territories, and there’s no national license available in Australia to work in real estate. There was an indication of one back in 2012, and after the federal election in 2012, the incoming party decided to scrap the national license initiative. 

Since then, we’ve just gone back to what we had before, so you need to work out which state or territory you’re going to be acting/working in and then look at the regulator’s webpage website and look at the eligibility requirements to become a real estate agent in Australia. 

This will determine the course you will undertake, and how long it will take to complete will usually depend on how many subjects/units you need to complete.

Each training provider will differ in completion time, which depends on the delivery mode. Some training providers will claim they can deliver the course in a few days—more on this here and why I would not recommend enrolling into a delivery such as that.

Anything fast and cheap- promising more than a reasonable person and business should and will be met with disappointment and no outcome for the individual.

I can provide a rough guide on the amount of time it might take based on the courses we run here at Connect Skills Institute.

The first five units of Certificate IV will take roughly one month to complete.

We usually advise students that completing the 18-unit Certificate IV course will take them 1-3 months on average to complete the course if they chip away at the learning and assessment consistently over time.

12-unit Diploma: 1- 3 months to complete.

Smart young woman studying real estate

But, if you have experience, knowledge and skills relating to the subjects, that could significantly reduce the time to finish with RPL.

There are several factors relating to every individual, such as real estate industry or business experience, and any courses completed previously will impact on time. The main one is why you are doing the course.
Typically, businesspeople are used to meeting deadlines and do not waste time. Individuals who set realistic goals focus on applying themselves and are committed to finishing, so they can achieve that promotion or start that career.

There are so many common and unknown variables that can influence the time it takes to finish the course. 

Every student is different – you will finish when you do. We have optimised the experience to reduce the time it takes to complete with:

  • Clear instructions
  • Ease of use navigating the student portal
  • No printing, handwriting or scanning
  • Answer assist
  • Modern student portal – no printing or scanning
We encourage all students to access support and reach out anytime. Make sure you do. When students contact us here at connect skills institute. We do respond. That is another major reason a course will take longer than it should is due to poor support.
Another reason is the person may have a disability or ADHD or a family needing support, for example, and they need to take more time to complete the course and that’s ok.
It is important students do not pressure themselves to finish before they start.
It’s important to remember that it’s not a race, and we don’t want you to stress about it, but it’s about engaging with the online student portal and logging in every day if you can- reading a bit more and trying a few assessments.
Over time, you’ll become more confident with what you need to do or how easy it is to access our student portal. Also, we’ve provided the information in an interactive online format, making the course more enjoyable.
You can finish earlier if you get in there and give it a go. But as I said, it’s not a race. It’s about learning all aspects of real estate practice for the course you’re doing over time so that when you finish the course, you’re prepared to either be certified or have a full license or be able to own and operate your own office.
Smiling girl working on her online real estate course- it will not take her long to finish

Are online or face-to-face/workshops courses faster?

Our online course is better than face-to-face or a workshop and is often faster. 

Why? 

Face-to-face delivery is not a good use of your time as a student because you can waste a lot of time sitting in class, listening to a trainer, and you have to move at their pace or the pace of others rather than your own.

Then at the end of the workshops, you often still have to go home, log in, and do the course assessments after that fact anyway.

Face-to-face learning can be beneficial because you are physically there in person, and it may be more of an interactive environment for you to ask questions. It also depends on the trainer if they are competent industry professionals to keep your interest in going to every class.

Online allows you to move and work at your own pace in your own time. it is flexible learning which works well for busy people who have many things going on in their lives (as we all do!).

Connect Skills Institute has heaps of support for students, LiveChat, SMS, and Calls, Book a FREE Call-back anytime during business hours.
Our materials, tools and student portal is one of the most modern available in real estate and that, combined with the flexibility to log in when you are ready.
If the same course is undertaken at TAFE, for example, there are government hours linked with funded arrangements, and that’s why it takes so much longer.
How long to become a real estate agent

What about the time it takes to obtain requirements for experience?

There are usually no experience requirements for entry-level agents.

However, if you are applying to become a fully licensed real estate agent:

  • QLD requires no prior experience to apply for a real estate agent license. The person can work as an employee or choose to open his/her own office as a fully licensed real estate agent.
  • NSW requires a minimum of one year working as an assistant agent to apply for a class 2 agent or no longer than four years. Then after two years as a class 2 agent, after completing a Diploma in property agency management, can apply for the Class 1 agent license
  • ACT requires a minimum of one year working as an assistant agent to apply for a class 2 agent or no longer than four years. Then after two years as a class 2 agent, after completing a Diploma in property agency management, can apply for the Class 1 agent license.
  • VIC requires a minimum of 12 months of experience as an agent representative over a period of no more than 3 years – you are required to have a CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice and complete a CPP51119 Diploma of property agency management to work as an employee or you can open up your own office as an estate agent (a fully licensed agent).
  • WA requires two years of experience as a certified agent – a CPP51119 Diploma of property agency management to work as an employee or you can open up your own office as an estate agent (a fully licensed agent).
  • TAS requires two years of full-time experience as a salesperson or property manager within the previous five years.
  • SA has no experience requirements.
  • NT has no experience requirements.
Real estate agent gives keys to clients at their office

How long does it take to apply to the regulator and then obtain approval?

From past experience assisting students in their applications to the regulators, regulator processing times can be as quick as 1 day for a certificate or 6-8 weeks for a full license.

Note that the regulator eligibility applies, and the subjects within the same courses will differ from state to state.

I also recommend checking with your state/territory regulator for processing times.

Final Thoughts

So to become a real estate agent and start work could take anywhere from 1-4 months, depending on a variety of factors.

I encourage you to contact us so we understand your unique situation and provide you with a more accurate estimate for completion which may be reduced by prior experience or depending on the amount of coursework you need to do for your state or territory.

We are genuinely one of the very few training providers that can give you information of a general nature across various aspects of becoming licensed in real estate.

We are industry professionals who have spoken to thousands of agents, there’s not much we haven’t heard about before!

For those wanting to start their own business: The way people start a business is to think about it, talk about it, and act on it. The only problem is some people don’t look up the requirements to become an agent or to open a real estate office beforehand. So do yourself a favour by contacting us, and we can help you there.

So I hope this blog has been helpful to you in giving you a realistic idea of how long it will take to become a real estate agent in Australia.

See you in the next blog 🙂

This blog contains my personal opinions about doing real estate courses and working in the real estate industry based on my many years of experience working with students and helping them achieve their career goals.

5 thoughts on “How Long Does It Take To Become A Real Estate Agent?

  1. Taryn Peterson says:

    Good morning. I am interested in a career in realestate. Please call me when you have a chance to discuss the cert 1V

  2. Summer says:

    Great staff. Thanks for the information . Can you contact me as I do want to start my own business and would like to have guidance from you please

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