Question 1
An owner's oddly shaped lot cannot fit a house within the required setback. Which should she ask the zoning board for?
How hard is the real estate exam?
Harder than most people expect. Only 56% of Texas candidates pass both portions on the first try, and 53% of California exams end in a pass.
| State | Pass rate | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 56% | First try, both portions: 16,824 of 29,980 sales agent candidates, December 2023 to November 2025. TREC provider pass rates |
| California | 53% | All attempts: 30,063 salesperson exams from July 2025 to June 2026. DRE statistics, June 2026 |
| Virginia | 43% | State portion, all attempts: 4,020 of 9,347 in 2024. DPOR pass rates by school |
| New York | Not published | The Department of State reports each result as pass or fail and gives no pass rate. Department of State |
Would you pass? 10 questions
Ten national questions across the outline, scored against the pass line.
Question 2
Two siblings own a lake cabin as tenants in common, one with 70% and one with 30%. The 30% owner dies. What happens to her share?
Question 3
Which approach is most useful for valuing a new public library, which rarely sells and earns no rent?
Question 4
A seller orally agrees to sell her house and then changes her mind. Why can the buyer usually not enforce the deal?
Question 5
A seller signs an exclusive right-to-sell listing, then finds a buyer herself. Does the broker earn a commission?
Question 6
An agent mails owners warning that 'people of a different religion are moving in, so sell now before prices fall.' What is this?
Question 7
Federal lead-based paint disclosure rules apply to most housing built before which year?
Question 8
On a conventional loan, when must lenders end private mortgage insurance automatically, if the borrower is current?
Question 9
A buyer agrees to pay $340,000. The home appraises at $330,000. The lender will lend 80% of the price or the appraised value, whichever is less. How much cash must the buyer bring for the down payment?
Question 10
A home has a market value of $400,000 and is assessed at 25% of market value. The tax rate is 65 mills. What is the annual property tax?
What makes it hard
- Two exams in one: national principles and your state's law. In Texas, Virginia and Utah you must pass each portion on its own.
- Look-alike answers: exclusive agency or exclusive right to sell, void or voidable, steering or blockbusting.
- Math from memory: prorations, commission splits and loan figures, against the clock.
- State law details: numbers of days, dollar limits and who owes which duty.
How long to study
Your course hours come first. After the course, practice every day and take two or three full timed exams. Book your date once you clear the pass line with room to spare.
Next step
Questions people ask
What is the pass rate for the Texas real estate exam?
56% of sales agent candidates passed both portions on the first try from December 2023 to November 2025, by TREC's figures.
What is the pass rate for the California real estate exam?
53% of the 30,063 salesperson exams taken from July 2025 to June 2026 were passes, by the DRE's figures.
Does New York publish a pass rate?
No. The Department of State reports each result as pass or fail and gives no pass rate.
What is the hardest part of the real estate exam?
Most people find state law details and the math hardest, because both need exact numbers you cannot work out from common sense.