To become a real estate agent in New Jersey, you’ll need to complete a 75-hour prelicensing course to meet the state’s requirements for sitting the state licensure exam. If you’re ready to kick-start a new career this year, we’ll share the best New Jersey real estate schools to help set you up for success.
With more than 100 licensed schools listed on the New Jersey Real Estate Commission’s website, you might be wondering which one to choose. We’ve narrowed it down to the five best New Jersey real estate schools based on pricing, course offerings, and more to help you pinpoint the New Jersey real estate school that’s right for you.
5 Best New Jersey Real Estate Schools for 2022
| Our Top Picks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Best Overall: Real Estate Express | ||
| Best Instructor Support: Garden State Real Estate Academy | ||
| Best No-frills School: Alliance School of Real Estate | ||
| Best for Flexibility: Center for Real Estate Education | ||
| Best for Exam Prep: New Jersey Real Estate Institute |
Choosing a New Jersey Real Estate School: Helpful Info
To launch your real estate career in New Jersey, you’ll need to complete a 75-hour prelicensing course, but your education doesn’t end there. You’ll need to continue your professional development throughout your career. Here are a few of the types of courses offered by New Jersey real estate schools to help you do so.
Prelicensing Courses
To apply to sit the license exam with the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, you’ll need to show proof of completion of an approved 75-hour prelicensing course. The New Jersey real estate schools on our list ensure you’ll have all the materials you need to prepare for the exam and get extra support, should you need it.
NOTE: The New Jersey 75-hour prelicense course is normally in-person only. Due to COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, licensed schools in New Jersey are temporarily able to provide prelicense courses online. Online classes are formatted as scheduled, livestream classes.
Exam Prep
Besides the topics you’ll cover in class, you’ll want to leave your course feeling confident about taking your license exam. Sometimes, it’s not enough to review the course material. Our top pick for exam prep is the New Jersey Real Estate Institute, which offers additional study materials so you know what to expect on exam day.
Continuing Education
Once you get your New Jersey real estate license, your first couple of years as a real estate agent can pass by quickly. That’s why you’ll want to pick a real estate school you trust to satisfy your continuing education (CE) requirements.
In New Jersey, you’ll need to complete 12 hours of CE every two years to maintain your real estate license. We recommend Real Estate Express for continuing education to finish your course work quickly and conveniently.
Now that you understand the importance of choosing the right New Jersey real estate school—one that’s capable of carrying you through the various stages of your career—let’s take a closer look at our top picks and learn why they made our list of favorites.
Best Overall NJ Real Estate School: Real Estate Express
Real Estate Express Offers:
Real Estate Express sits at the top of our list for best New Jersey real estate school. For more than two decades, Real Estate Express has been preparing prospective real estate agents for their licensure exams and careers.
Operating in all 50 states, they offer comprehensive online real estate education delivered in convenient, self-paced, and easy-to-use livestream and online formats to fit your schedule. You’ll find study materials, support options, and exam prep all in one place.
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Real Estate Express Pricing
Real Estate Express offers both livestream and self-paced, online course packages.
- Livestream Package ($479): Includes a set schedule of online classes with a live instructor to attend from the comfort of home. Choose between weekdays, evenings, and part-time classes.
- Self-paced Online Package ($479): If you can’t adhere to a schedule of livestream classes, access on-demand video classes that you can view at your own pace and according to your schedule.
(Real Estate Express New Jersey prelicensing package prices as of May 2022)
BEST FEATURE: We have to call out Real Estate Express’ abundant package features. The 40 hours of live Q&A support available go above and beyond the email support provided by most other schools.
ROOM TO IMPROVE: If your workweek is jam-packed and you’re a weekend warrior, Real Estate Express’ lack of weekend livestream options means you’ll have to opt for their self-paced, online package. While this isn’t a deal-breaker, we wish they had weekend livestream classes for those with family and work commitments from Monday through Friday.
BOTTOM LINE: Real Estate Express’ prelicensing course is one of the most comprehensive packages on the market. Thorough exam prep usually costs extra, so including it in their prelicensing package adds significant value.
Best NJ Real Estate School for Instructor Support: Garden State Real Estate Academy
Garden State Academy Offers:
Garden State Real Estate Academy (GSRE) is one of the best options for instructor support. If you’re most worried about the challenging course material, GSRE Academy focuses on making sure you feel confident about the material during class time. With lots of great reviews about their instructors, GSRE has been teaching candidates since 2005.
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Garden State Real Estate Academy Pricing
Garden State Real Estate Academy offers two prelicensing packages in New Jersey.
- Livestream Package ($369): Choose from daytime or evening classes held over Zoom, including the textbook and instructor support.
- Garden State Real Estate Academy In-person Class Package ($369): Choose from daytime or evening classes and switch between in-person and online classes for a blended approach to fit your schedule.
(Garden State Real Estate Academy prelicensing package prices as of May 2022)
BEST FEATURES:
ROOM TO IMPROVE: Because GSRE Academy usually teaches in-person, their online interface doesn’t have as many options. Like most real estate schools in New Jersey, they won’t have an at-your-own-pace option.
BOTTOM LINE: When you sign up for your prelicensing course with Garden State Real Estate Academy, you’ll have access to both livestream and in-person classes. Small class sizes mean you’ll get more attention on the tougher course material you may need help with. If you’re looking for a solid understanding of the course content and a dedicated instructor, GSRE Academy is the way to go.
Best No-frills NJ Real Estate School: Alliance School of Real Estate
The Alliance School of Real Estate has straightforward prelicensing courses offered online via livestream. Their student testimonials praise their knowledgeable instructors, who have over 20 years of broker experience. What’s more, they offer some tips and advice for your real estate career after you’ve finished the course.
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Alliance School of Real Estate Pricing
Alliance School of Real Estate currently only offers one package for their prelicensing course.
- Livestream Package ($349): This package offers the 75-hour prelicensing course via Zoom with all your course materials included.
(Alliance School of Real Estate prelicensing package prices as of May 2022)
BEST FEATURES:
ROOM TO IMPROVE: Without a self-paced online option, you’ll have to work your schedule around the livestream course options. Alliance School of Real Estate also isn’t for you if you prefer in-person classes and don’t want to fuss with online learning.
Alliance School of Real Estate also provides a free retake of the course if you don’t pass. If you want to retake the course, this makes their package the best value.
BOTTOM LINE: Alliance School of Real Estate is for you if you’re looking for value and not as many bells and whistles. Their prelicensing course is the most affordable package on our list. Their live classes are streamed via Zoom, and their courses still offer some extra tools.
Best NJ Real Estate School for Flexibility: Center for Real Estate Education
The Center for Real Estate Education (CREE) is one of the largest real estate schools in New Jersey. It offers prelicensing courses and continuing education, as well as seminars and coaching. With so many instructors, classes are always in session, which makes finding a class easy. Their flexible scheduling means that you have more than just weekday and evening options.
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Center for Real Estate Education Pricing
Center for Real Estate Education offers several packages to complete your prelicensing course.
- Essentials Package ($199): Includes the 75-hour prelicensing course via livestream or in-person, with study aids.
- Power Study Package ($299): Includes practice exams, interactive study groups, and access to a community Facebook group.
- Ultimate Career Package: ($499): Includes additional career training and a property management certificate course.
(Center for Real Estate Education prelicensing package prices as of May 2022)
BEST FEATURES:
ROOM TO IMPROVE: While CREE offers the most flexibility between in-person and livestream class options, they could sweeten the deal by including the textbook in the price. For now, you’ll have to purchase the textbook separately.
BOTTOM LINE: If you’re looking to get your license in New York or Pennsylvania, the Center for Real Estate Education has you covered. You can choose their Multistate Mogul package to prepare for the NJ, NY, and PA real estate licenses at once. If you only need your license in New Jersey, you still can’t beat their flexible schedule.
Like other New Jersey real estate schools, CREE offers weekday and evening livestream classes, but they also offer classes on Saturdays and Sundays. And you can mix and match the classes that fit your schedule, so you can dip into all of the weekday, evening, and weekend classes however you like.
Best NJ Real Estate School for Exam Prep: New Jersey Real Estate Institute
The New Jersey Real Estate Institute (NJREI) offers flexible course options. Instructors are expert real estate salespeople and brokers with decades of experience. NJREI’s director is also their principal instructor, and he puts the focus on making sure you pass the license exam. What the New Jersey Real Estate Institute lacks in extra tools, it makes up for in class schedule and a 90% exam pass rate.
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New Jersey Real Estate Institute Pricing
New Jersey Real Estate Institute offers only one prelicensing package.
- Prelicense Course ($425): Includes the 75-hour course in a small-class setting with all course materials, your textbook, practice exams, and live instructor Q&A sessions included.
(New Jersey Real Estate Institute prelicensing package prices as of May 2022)
BEST FEATURE: New Jersey Real Estate Institute’s 10-person class size means you get more time with an instructor to ensure you understand the course material. Like other classes, your materials and exam prep are included. NJ Real Estate Institute also offers flexible classes, so you can choose the rate at which you’d like to finish the course.
ROOM TO IMPROVE: New Jersey Real Estate Institute began offering their prelicensing course online beginning in April 2020, so don’t expect a slick user experience. If you’re tech-savvy and expect a seamless user experience when switching between your tablet, phone, and computer, then their simple layout may not impress you.
BOTTOM LINE: New Jersey Real Estate Institute focuses on making sure you pass your real estate license exam the first time.
New Jersey Real Estate Schools FAQs
Still have questions? We have answers to some of your most frequently asked questions about attending a New Jersey real estate school. If there’s something we haven’t covered, please drop your question in the comments section of this article. We’d be happy to help!
How much does real estate school cost in New Jersey?
New Jersey real estate schools cost between $250 and $500 to complete your prelicensing requirements. You’ll need to take a 75-hour prelicensing course before you can apply for your New Jersey real estate license.
The cost will depend on the kind of school package you choose. In general, the cost of school packages is higher when they include extra features like exam prep, instructor support, or practice tests. We suggest checking out Real Estate Express, our top pick for best overall school.
How long does it take to get my New Jersey real estate license?
On average, it takes three to six months to get your New Jersey real estate license. How long it takes will vary depending on how long it takes to complete your prelicense course and prepare for the license exam. You can complete prelicense courses in as quickly as two weeks if you go full time.
What is the pass rate of the New Jersey real estate license exam?
Sixty-three percent of candidates will pass the license exam on their first try.
How difficult are real estate courses in New Jersey?
You’ll need to learn a variety of real estate topics and gain a solid understanding of the principles behind real estate. That being said, you have plenty of options for real estate schools with extra support like instructor Q&A, study groups, and practice exams. In the end, you’ll simply need to commit time to attending your classes and reviewing the material.
More Career Resources From The Close
Now that you’ve learned about our top picks among New Jersey real estate schools, we hope you feel confident in choosing the New Jersey real estate school that’s right for you, your timeline, lifestyle, and learning style.
At The Close, we’re committed to sharing actionable strategies for every step of your real estate career. Once you’ve completed your courses and have your license, don’t forget to check out The Close Pro to level up your skills as you progress in your career. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our latest articles direct to your inbox, or join our Facebook Mastermind Group to connect with other professionals across the country.
