How to Become a Real Estate Salesperson in Ontario?

People often get over-excited when they plan to land a real estate salesperson job. It usually seems quite a simple process to get this job. In contrast, it is the other way around.

To help you get to this level, I will share the process as explained by the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). The process consists of three phases.

Phase 1 - Pre-registration

Course Completion Phase

The pre-registration phase is the beginning point for anyone wanting to become a professional real estate agent in Ontario. This is the phase required to be completed prior to registering with RECO.

The process involves the completion of courses, successful examination attempts, and simulation sessions within a period of 24 months, from the date you access Course 1.

Note (1) Since September 2019, Humber College is entitled to deliver the real estate registration education courses on behalf of RECO.

The image below explains how your 24-months are planned:

Course or Program Extensions

If learners are unable to complete the course within the maximum time allowed (i.e. 24 months), they may submit a course extension request. The extension request is supported with relevant documentation.

The authority is fully entitled to approve or disapprove of the extension. In case your extension is not approved, you may have to repurchase the course.

For more information regarding extensions and courses, visit HUMBER’s website.

Phase 2 - Registration with RECO

After the successful completion of phase one (pre-registration phase), you would be allowed to register with RECO. The registration time is one year of completing phase one.

The basic criteria involved in this phase, include:

·         The learner’s age must be 18 years or above.

·         A resident of Canada.

·         Fulfilling all the requirements guided by Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (REBBA 2002).

Once you complete all the basic requirements, you would be required to fill the application form to register as a salesperson with RECO.

Phase 3 - Post-registration

Once you are registered with RECO, you would be required to complete additional courses within the first two years of the registration process.

Here, you would be completing the compulsory compliance course and then any two of the remaining five elective courses.

Average Salary of a Real Estate Salesperson

Once you have completed all three phases of becoming a real estate agent in Ontario, you could start your hunt for related jobs.

According to Payscale, the average salary of a real estate agent is around $60,427 per year. While the maximum amount they earn in a year goes above $169,000. 

A more precise breakdown based on the number of years spent in the sector is given in the image:

Pro Tip - Learn from Professional Real Estate Agents

While the journey of becoming a real estate agent is quite long and stressful, it is highly recommended to network with professional real estate agents near you. 

While you plan to become a real estate professional, you must also learn what the experts are doing. Learn how they survived the pandemic period, what they say about the real estate trends for the year, and so on.