Three days training and $500k a year – quick qualification courses and the ‘easy’ path to real estate riches
Ethan Forbes raced through his real estate course in three days. Now he’s grossing $500k – and tells critics of fast-track training that chasing success in the industry is an education in itself.
A real estate agent grossing $500,000 a year has defended the merit of a three-day course which qualified him to sell houses.
The in-person course, which cost $3000, is usually done in a week or more, but Ethan Forbes from LJ Hooker in Caloundra, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, sped through it in three days with a one-on-one tutor.
Some industry leaders are questioning the value of training courses lasting just a few days, or in some cases performed entirely online with AI assistance – compared to the old industry standards of a three-year TAFE qualification.
Mr Forbes said the course gave him a solid grounding in how to sell property, but “everything you learn in the game” comes from on-the-job experience.
Mr Forbes did an impromptu interview broadcast on the getahead app, in which he details doing a “pretty easy” real estate course in three days where “they basically give you the answers”.
Mr Forbes, 25, told News Corp the $3000 course, run by Validum Institute Real Estate Training, actually involved three days of intensive teaching from a qualified realtor.
“I like to think I learn stuff pretty fast. I was a kid who didn’t know anything but he (the instructor) was there to help me through it and I felt very comfortable that I couldn’t fail,” he said.
“It was a great course, but everything you learn in the game is from the job anyway.”
Mr Forbes, who lives in Currimundi on the Sunshine Coast, says he has now sold 60 houses and earns a gross commission of around $500,000 a year, with a take-home salary of between $150,000 and $180,000 after he has paid his assistants.
“I am a lucky boy,” he said. “The training gave me a good start, then you have to go out and knock on doors.”
He said it was about nine months before he handled a house sale on his own, and felt well prepared by the course and on-the-job training.
“I didn’t want to take six months to do the course, I was here to get it done,” he said.
“I lot of people ask how I got into real estate but I’ve never had a resume, it’s about finding the opportunity and making it work.”
He said he works “around the clock, seven days a week ... I’ve never worked harder, that’s for sure”.
Victor Pisanos, CEO and founder of Validum Institute – where Mr Forbes obtained his qualification – said most students took at least a week or two to complete the course, which costs between $800 and $3000 depending on whether it’s in-person or online. Some take six months or more.
But he warned aspiring agents to be wary of much cheaper courses offered by some other online-only providers, calling them “a bit scary”.
“The quality difference is miles apart. You have to ask yourself: What are you getting? They’re using AI-generated courses so how much comes from the student? Not much,” Mr Pisanos said.
“They are not even getting trained by a real estate agent.”
Tim McKibbin, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales, said that prior to 2002, a person wanting a career in real estate “had to go to TAFE for three years and sit exams to test their knowledge”.
“Now a person can complete the requisite education in as little as three days, and no exams,” he said.
However, he said many quickly find “agency practice is far more complex than the education they received had led them to believe – consequently, 80 per cent of people entering the industry leave in the first 12 months”.
“If the government truly wants a better industry, then it starts with education,” he said.
“The difference between no education and what (some training course students) are currently receiving is minimal.
“If you asked a consumer how long it takes to become a real estate agent, the answer varies from two to five years. Some consumers believe it to be a university course.”
Some courses for the Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice, which is the national standard for real estate, cost as little as $189 and rely on AI-driven assessments.
Such training, available nationally by a number of legal providers, boast there is “no experience required” and offer a “fast turnaround to get your qualification”.
One says the qualification can be attained through “open book assessments and personal virtual training”.
Mr McKibbin is also concerned about a proposed national automatic mutual recognition scheme allowing real estate agents licensed in one state to work in other states.
“Property transactions are by their very nature complex and always involve large sums of money. The law and practice of property transactions and the provision of property services in NSW is unique to our state,” he said.
“People providing property services in Queensland, for example, could not competently deliver property services in NSW.”
What’s your experience of real estate training courses? Share your story with us in the comments or at education@news.com.au
