As a senior instructor at a major test preparation company, I learned all the secrets critical to performing well on the most challenging standardized tests in the U.S.—strategies you can use to boost your score on your state’s real estate licensing exam.

If multiple-choice exams taken under time constraints give you sweaty palms, give rise to nervous glances at the clock, and evoke the strangely satisfying feel and flavor of a No. 2 yellow pencil gripped between your teeth—we’re here to help. We want to be a part of your exam-day success.

In this article, you’ll find a free real estate practice exam, recommendations for taking your exam prep to the next level, and seven secret hacks you can use to level up your exam-taking strategy.

Take Our Free Real Estate Practice Exam

Real estate practice exams are essential tools to prepare you for your state licensing exam. We designed a real estate practice exam with 30 questions covering all the major topics you’ll encounter on your state licensure exam.

Whether you’re getting your real estate license in California, Florida, New York, or anywhere in between, getting some practice questions under your belt is a great way to ensure you’re ready on exam day. We’ll give you immediate feedback along with your results and compare your performance to others who’ve also taken our real estate practice exam.

Your state’s real estate exam will allow you a basic function calculator, so make sure you have one (or your phone) handy before taking our free real estate practice exam.

Question 1

If a buyer’s earnest money deposit check is returned for insufficient funds after being deposited into the broker’s trust account, the broker should:

Question 1 of 10

    2 minute approx

    Question 2

    Which of the following best describes an “exclusive right to sell” listing?

    Question 2 of 10

      2 minute approx

      Question 3

      Rachel, a 17-year-old, makes an offer via her Realtor to purchase a condo from Sue, an adult. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

      Question 3 of 10

        2 minute approx

        Question 4

        Which of the following statements regarding a Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage is FALSE?

        Question 4 of 10

          2 minute approx

          Question 5

          Michael recently sold his primary home for $625,000 and realized a capital gain of $285,000. How much of this capital gain will Michael be allowed to EXCLUDE on his income tax assuming he is a SINGLE INDIVIDUAL?

          Question 5 of 10

            2 minute approx

            Question 6

            A parcel of land is 185 feet wide by 95 feet deep. The comps suggest that land in this area goes for $125 per square foot. Assuming that you follow the comp guidance exactly, what should be the listing price of this parcel of land?

            Question 6 of 10

              2 minute approx

              Question 7

              The Thompson family sold their home, closing on July 1st. In January of the same year, previous to selling their home, the Thompsons paid their full annual property tax bill. Which of the following statements BEST describes what will occur at closing?

              Question 7 of 10

                2 minute approx

                Question 8

                The Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Section 8 program helps low and moderate-income people by:

                Question 8 of 10

                  2 minute approx

                  Question 9

                  The location of a property’s MONUMENTS can be found in which clause of the deed?

                  Question 9 of 10

                    2 minute approx

                    Question 10

                    John just received his salesperson’s license and has joined a local brokerage. John will MOST LIKELY be classified by the local brokerage as a(n):

                    Question 10 of 10

                      2 minute approx

                      Did You Pass Your State’s Real Estate License Exam?

                      Real Estate Practice Exam

                      The threshold for passing your real estate licensing exam is between 70% and 75% in most states. Did you meet your state’s requirements on our real estate practice exam? If so, you’re well on your way to a passing score on your exam day!

                      If you didn’t, don’t worry. You’ve still got plenty of time, and we have effective strategies to help you improve your score. Read on to learn more!

                      State-by-State Real Estate Exam Pass Rates

                      Each state’s real estate license exam is unique regarding the number of questions, the ratio of state-specific vs general knowledge questions, and how long you have to complete the exam.

                      Select your state to find out what you can expect on exam day.

                      StateNumber of QuestionsPassing ScoreTime Limit
                      Alabama14070%3h 30m
                      Alaska12075%4h
                      Arizona18075%5h
                      Arkansas12570%4h
                      California15070%3h
                      Colorado15475%3h 50m
                      Connecticut11070%2h 45m
                      Delaware12070%4h
                      District of Columbia11075%4h
                      Florida10075%3h 30m
                      Georgia15272%*4h
                      Hawaii13070%4h
                      Idaho12070%4h
                      Illinois14075%3h 30m
                      Indiana13075%4h
                      Iowa12070%3h
                      Kansas11070%4h
                      Kentucky13075%4h
                      Louisiana13570%3h
                      Maine12075%4h
                      Maryland11070%3h
                      Massachusetts12070%4h
                      Michigan11570%3h
                      Minnesota12075%4h
                      Mississippi12072%4h
                      Missouri14075%4h
                      Montana13380%*3h 30m
                      Nebraska15070%4h
                      Nevada12075%4h
                      New Hampshire14070%*3h 30m
                      New Jersey11070%4h
                      New Mexico13075%3h
                      New York7570%1h 30m
                      North Carolina14070%4h
                      North Dakota14075%3h 30m
                      Ohio12070%3h
                      Oklahoma13075%3h
                      Oregon13075%3h 15m
                      Pennsylvania11075%3h
                      Rhode Island13570%*4h
                      South Carolina11070%3h
                      South Dakota15775%*4h
                      Tennessee12070%4h
                      Texas12561%4h
                      Utah13070%4h
                      Vermont13675%*4h
                      Virginia12070%2h 30m
                      Washington13075%*3h 30m
                      West Virginia15075%3h
                      Wisconsin14075%4h
                      Wyoming13275%3h 30m

                      *The passing percentages in these states vary year to year depending on each test’s difficulty and pass rate on a rolling basis. This system, known as the “minimally competent practitioner evaluation,” causes the passing percentage to float, but generally, it is within 5% of our listed pass/fail threshold.

                      Take Your Exam Prep to the Next Level

                      If you want to level up your real estate exam prep, consider a course from a reputable real estate education company. Here are some of our favorites.

                      The Close Top Real Estate Exam Prep Providers for 2022

                      ProviderWhy We Like ThemPricing + Promo Codes
                      Mbition (Best Overall)Adaptive Learning Technology that customizes your test prep based on how you perform on practice examsStarting at $59.
                      Click our Mbition link - Save 15%
                      Real Estate ExpressMore than 15 full-length practice tests + a great prelicensing / test prep package if you still need your class hours

                      Read Our Review
                      Starting at $99.
                      TheClose25 - Save 25%
                      Kaplan Real Estate

                      The exclusive QBank platform allows you to create your own custom practice tests based on the areas you need the most work

                      Read Our Review
                      Starting at $99.
                      KAPRE5 - Save 5%
                      Real Estate Exam ScholarMost affordable option + a mobile-friendly platform for test preppers on the goStarting at $39. Check website for deals

                      7 Real Estate Exam Hacks Test Makers Don’t Want You to Know About

                      If you’ve been creeping on my LinkedIn account (feel free to add me!), you’ll know that I spent some time teaching for a reputable real estate education company.

                      Here are the seven test-taking hacks you need to ace your exam:

                      1. Answer Every Question

                      When you’ve got a timed test, there’s always the concern that you’ll get hung up in a particular section and be unable to complete the test. Don’t be one of those people. Answer every single question, even if you’re guessing.

                      The worst that can happen when you guess on a question is that you don’t get any points, and the best that can happen—assuming you have NO idea what the answer is—is that you have a one in four shot at getting a point. Don’t leave anything blank.

                      2. Always Answer the Questions You Know First

                      If you don’t know the answer to a question, skip it and move on. But make sure you come back to it later. Here’s why:

                      Let’s say you have 10 minutes left on your timed test and 10 questions left to answer. The second of your 10 remaining questions is a particularly tough one, and you spend seven minutes trying to figure out the answer. Now, with only three minutes left, you’re forced to quickly answer the remaining eight questions, some of which you may guess at to avoid leaving blanks.

                      Wouldn’t it be a shame if the last eight questions on the test were easy ones—guaranteed points for you—but you provide random answers because you don’t have time to consider them carefully?

                      By skipping through the questions you don’t know the answers to and focusing first on the questions you know the answers to, you’re giving yourself time to answer the questions you’re most likely to get right.

                      3. Eliminate Wrong Answers Before Moving on From a Tough Question

                      If you have a particularly challenging question that you’ll need to circle back to, be sure to eliminate any of the answer choices you know to be incorrect. Doing so gives you two advantages.

                      First, you’ll capitalize on your “gut reaction.” More often than not, your first instinct points you in the right direction. Listening to your inner voice will eliminate an answer or two, making your final answer a little easier later on.

                      Second, thinking critically and eliminating answer choices you know don’t make sense may help you to answer subsequent questions more effectively. Related questions are not uncommon on the real estate license exam, and some use the same purchase or sale scenario.

                      4. Use the Question Stem to Look for Clues to the Right Answer

                      Often, the correct answer is hinted at in the question itself. For instance, if a question setup is particularly long and complex, chances are the answer will match the question in terms of sophistication and complexity. More often than not, a three-sentence question will not have a one-word answer.

                      5. Always Anticipate the Answer Before Looking at the Choices

                      Complicated wording may cause you to get tripped up on the real estate licensing exam. You may misinterpret an answer choice. Deceptive language is arguably fair game on tests like these. Therefore, double-negatives, unrelated conclusions, or red herrings are commonly used (especially in the math portion of the test).

                      You can combat this multiple-choice test feature by predicting what you think the answer will be before reviewing the answers. By doing so, you are giving yourself a gut-checked answer you can compare against the answer choices, rather than trying to find one answer that simply sounds better than the others. If an answer choice isn’t anything close to what you predicted, it’s probably incorrect. If one lines up well with what you had in mind, chances are you’ve got the right one.

                      6. Remember, There’s Only One Correct Answer

                      The best part about multiple-choice tests is that there is, unequivocally, one correct answer to every question on the test. With this established, there are, therefore, three categorically incorrect answers to every question.

                      If you’re having trouble with a question, try reversing your perspective on it. Rather than seeking the correct answer, try picking out the wrong answers. Can you identify the fundamental flaws in the answer choices? Three of them exist. Even if the right answer doesn’t jump off the page, the wrong answers might.

                      7. The Real Estate License Exam Is Pass/Fail, No Extra Credit for a Perfect Score

                      If you’re an overachiever like me, the allure of a perfect score on a test is hard to ignore. You may be tempted to try to crush it. Resist the urge! In the case of the real estate licensing exam, you simply have to.

                      Why? From a test strategy standpoint, your goal is to correctly answer the number of questions that will get you a passing score. You need a grade of 70% (80% in some states) to pass the exam and get your license. On a 100-question test, your strategy is to answer 70 questions correctly. My advice is to skip questions liberally.

                      Answering 90 questions correctly won’t earn you anything extra. Expend all your best energy to reach the passing threshold—anything beyond that doesn’t matter when it comes to your real estate licensing exam (though you’ll need that crucial knowledge to practice real estate!).

                      Bringing It All Together

                      Real estate practice exam options abound, but Mbition – Learn Real Estate provides the best offerings if you’re ready to get your license, power up your prep, and crush your test. Check them out today and start preparing for the next step of your career.

                      Check out Mbition

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