Study tips for real estate exam

Member since 2021 · 4 posts · 4 votes

What did you all use for practice questions or test prep sites that actually helped? I’m really looking for good places to just keep doing questions and learn that way.

Did you find it better to just keep doing a ton of practice questions vs. sitting down with a book?

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Steve K.

Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5mo

Practice tests and flash cards. I downloaded an app that was basically electronic flashcards which I would bust out whenever I had a free moment. The practice test questions are the same exact questions that are on the test so just do lots of those and you will be all set.

It's good that you're studying! The test was harder than I expected (but unfortunately mostly devoid of practical information that actually applies to the job, so the real education starts on the job). Good luck!

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Caleb Brown
Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5mo
I always learned better taking practice tests. I would say take the test to see how you do, anything topics you feel weak on you can study then retake
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Bruce Lynn
Real Estate Broker · Coppell, TX · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5mo
I haven't heard anybody talk about it for a long time but there was a website called something like night before the exam. You might try to see if he could find that one. Although I wouldn't wait until the night before to study. I always tell people you should take the exam prep class if your schooling provider has one or if you can find another one. I think setting the questions in the back of the book or at the end of the chapters is also a really good idea.
if your test is the same as mine you can skip questions you don't know the answer to and come back to them later. Answer the questions you know quickly. My test was multiple choice so you can also eliminate the answers you know are wrong.
good luck and best wishes.
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Abel CurielBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Queens, NY · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5mo
Quote from @Felicia Gossett:

What did you all use for practice questions or test prep sites that actually helped? I’m really looking for good places to just keep doing questions and learn that way.

Did you find it better to just keep doing a ton of practice questions vs. sitting down with a book?
Practice exams were super helpful for me.

I purchased my exam on realestateexpress.com and got a decent discount from groupon.
The course included practice exams, and, if I'm not mistaken, practice exams can be purchased separately.
All the best!
Abel
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Steve K.
Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
5mo
Practice tests and flash cards. I downloaded an app that was basically electronic flashcards which I would bust out whenever I had a free moment. The practice test questions are the same exact questions that are on the test so just do lots of those and you will be all set.

It's good that you're studying! The test was harder than I expected (but unfortunately mostly devoid of practical information that actually applies to the job, so the real education starts on the job). Good luck!
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- Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
  Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
  4mo
  Quote from @Steve K.:
  
  Practice tests and flash cards. I downloaded an app that was basically electronic flashcards which I would bust out whenever I had a free moment. The practice test questions are the same exact questions that are on the test so just do lots of those and you will be all set.
  
  It's good that you're studying! The test was harder than I expected (but unfortunately mostly devoid of practical information that actually applies to the job, so the real education starts on the job). Good luck!
  
  its all about memorization and taking the practice test 100 times.. so that when you go the the real thing you know the answer before U are done with teh question. Also skip all math questions to the end.. U can miss all the math questions easily and still pass.. But dont take them in order and get bogged down..
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Richard F.
Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5mo
CE Shop for pre test prep, and continuing ed after you are licensed.
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Michael Eskenasy
Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 538 posts · 301 votes
5mo
Don’t just do practice questions. Build a miss log.

Every time you miss one, write down:
- what the right answer was
- why you picked the wrong one
- what rule or concept you actually missed
Most people keep taking questions and feel productive, but they’re really just re-meeting the same mistakes.

So I’d do:
- practice questions for volume
- a miss log for pattern recognition
- short review blocks on only the concepts you keep missing
That’s usually better than reading the whole book over and over.
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Priyank Yagnik
Real Estate Agent · Plano, TX · Member since 2022 · 9 posts · 5 votes
4mo

https://m.youtube.com/@PrepAgent

This YouTube channel was a great help to me when I was preparing for the test while on the go. I didn't buy any paid material, just the videos available on YouTube were more than sufficient for solidify core concepts.
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Jules Aton
MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4mo
Best wishes! You got this!
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Christian Grosskopf
Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2017 · 92 posts · 38 votes
4mo
I'm preparing to take the exam as well! Good luck to you Felicia.
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Mohammed Rahman
Real Estate Broker · New York, NY · Member since 2020 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4mo
I’d do both, not one or the other. Practice questions are great for getting comfortable with how the exam is structured and how questions are worded. They help you recognize patterns and avoid common traps. But they only take you so far if you don’t actually understand what’s behind the answer.

Spending time with the material, even if it’s not exciting, is what builds real confidence. When you understand why something works a certain way, the questions become a lot easier and you’re not just guessing based on memory.

And honestly, if you’re thinking beyond just passing the test, that deeper understanding matters a lot.
What I’ve seen work well is using practice questions to identify weak spots, then going back and reviewing those specific topics until they actually click. Then rinse and repeat.

You’ve got the right idea focusing on questions though. Just don’t skip the “why” behind them.
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Minho Lee
Real Estate Agent · Worcester, MA · Member since 2026 · 114 posts · 53 votes
4mo
I learned a lot from watching www.youtube.com/@JustCallMaggie and www.youtube.com/@DeeKumarOnline.
I also recommend studying this exam prep from PSI! https://static.kaplanlearn.com/assets/02/c9/Natl_PSI_Exam_Pr....
Good luck!
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James WilcoxBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Bowling Green KY ~ Lexington, KY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 601 votes
3mo
Quote from @Felicia Gossett:

What did you all use for practice questions or test prep sites that actually helped? I’m really looking for good places to just keep doing questions and learn that way.

Did you find it better to just keep doing a ton of practice questions vs. sitting down with a book?

@Felicia Gossett I agree with what everyone else has said. From personal experience, Kentucky has one of the more challenging real estate licensing exams (as it should be), but it is absolutely passable if you put in the time to study.
One of the best things you can do is take practice exams. They give you a good idea of the format and style of questions you'll see on the actual proctored exam, and many of the concepts are very similar. As others mentioned, there are several online options available. I used The CE Shop, and their practice tests were very helpful.

There are also some great YouTube videos that review real estate terminology in a flashcard-style format, which can be a useful study tool.

When taking the exam, be sure to read each question carefully. The test writers intentionally include answer choices that are very similar, so reading comprehension is important. Understanding exactly what the question is stating is just as important in real estate as it is on the exam.

Put in the study time, stay consistent, and you'll do fine. Good luck.
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Hok Lim
Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes
2mo
Just passed the Maryland PSI exam on July 2nd so this is very fresh. I started studying the course on June 27th — so six days of focused prep from zero to passing.

A few things that actually worked for me:

Practice questions were the core of my prep — I used the Colibri Real Estate course which includes a question bank. I treated the practice finals like the real exam, timed and no breaks. Passed both the national and state portions on the first attempt. The state portion I found fairly difficult during the exam. National was easy.

One thing I'd add to what others said — don't just mark wrong answers and move on. Understand WHY the correct answer is correct and why each wrong answer is wrong. That eliminates guessing on similar questions later.

For the Maryland state portion specifically — know agency relationships, disclosure requirements, and the MREC rules cold. Those come up repeatedly.

Six days is doable if you stay focused.
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Tom Bertog
Realtor · San Clemente, CA · Member since 2026 · 6 posts · 1 vote
2mo
Felicia, good luck with your prep, this is a good thread to be reading through. I got licensed a long time ago now, so my own test prep memories are pretty foggy, but I still remember how disconnected the exam felt from what the actual job turned out to be. A lot of good advice already in here about practice questions and understanding the why behind the answers rather than just memorizing patterns, and I'd agree with that completely.

What I'd add from the other side of it, having mentored a fair number of newer agents over the years, is that passing the test is really just the entry ticket. The real education happens once you're sitting across from your first buyer or seller and realizing the exam never touched half of what actually matters day to day, things like reading a market, managing expectations on pricing, or knowing when a property has an issue worth flagging before someone falls in love with it. None of that shows up on a multiple choice test.

So study hard, get through it, but don't expect the license itself to mean you're ready. That part comes with reps.
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