It’s a new year, and now is an ideal time to invest in yourself. Take time to explore educational opportunities and expand your existing knowledge in a specialized area of real estate.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and its affiliated organizations offer numerous programs and courses to gain skills to help yourself and your business thrive this year. Here’s a sampling for your consideration as we kick off 2019:
Military Relocations
When military staff and their families relocate, a real estate professional who understands their needs and timetables can make the transfer simpler, faster and less stressful. By earning the Military Relocation Professional (MRP) certification, you’ll gain an understanding of the processes and procedures of a military relocation, and how these policies impact housing choices.
The training also explores military benefits, such as VA financing, so you can help both current and former military service members take full advantage of the benefits they’ve earned. As an added benefit, you also have the opportunity to capture more business with expertise in this niche market.
Learn more at nar.realtor/education/designations-and-certifications/mrp.
Serving Seniors
Baby boomers represent the largest and wealthiest group of homebuyers and sellers in the U.S. today. Because they often face unique real estate needs, they tend to gravitate toward agents who offer specialized knowledge and solutions beyond the “typical” real estate professional.
The Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) designation helps you build vital skills and understand what motivates this growing market. Over two days of training, learn how to counsel clients through selling their family home, buying rental property and moving to a senior community, plus many other related issues such as the implications of tax laws, probate and estate planning.
Learn more at nar.realtor/designations-and-certifications/sres.
Green and Sustainable Real Estate
Resource-efficient homes offer unique features that should be marketed differently than traditional homes. However, specialized training is required to understand and leverage those features.
NAR’s Green Designation teaches real estate professionals how to build business and gain a competitive edge by helping clients make informed choices about the resource efficiency and performance of the homes they live in, sell and buy.
It’s a two-day training program, with one day devoted to resource-efficient homes (retrofits, remodels, renovations and new-home construction) and another day for understanding how to represent buyers and sellers in the purchase or sale of a resource-efficient home.
Learn more at nar.realtor/education/designations-and-certifications/green.
Global Real Estate
Foreign buyers spent over $200 billion in U.S. real estate last year, proving that global real estate is more than a niche—it’s a mindset that paves the way to both residential and commercial opportunities in every market.
Whether you’re getting started in global business or looking to expand your network, there are several excellent ways to “go global.” Start by joining a Global Business Council at your state or local association.
For comprehensive instruction on the many important nuances of global real estate and access to powerful business-building resources, earn the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation, a five-day course.
Learn more at nar.realtor/global.
Commercial Real Estate
Buying, selling and leasing commercial real estate is extremely complex and differs from residential real estate. As a result, if you’d like to expand your business into commercial properties, you’ll need to invest considerable time and effort toward professional development. The best place to start is by exploring the coursework, online classes and conferences offered by the five commercial Institutes, Societies and Councils affiliated with NAR: the CCIM Institute, the Institute of Real Estate Management, the REALTORS® Land Institute, the Counselors of Real Estate and the Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®.
To explore options for gaining the knowledge and skills required to help investors and business owners with their commercial real estate needs, visit nar.realtor/commercial/courses-designations-and-events.
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