Despite its small size, Delaware is a great place to buy or invest in a home. In addition to offering one of the lowest property tax rates of any U.S. state, Delaware boasts some of the most attractive oceanside real estate in places like Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach.
The Delaware housing market is currently strong: from June 2011 to June 2019, the median home sale price in the state increased from a low of $169,000 to $222,000.
Every day, more Delaware real estate brokers are taking the next step in their career by pursuing a real estate broker license. Becoming a broker enables you to expand your professional opportunities by creating your own firm, hiring a team of agents, and ultimately earning more money.
Delaware has fairly strict requirements when it comes to obtaining a real estate broker license. Still, if you’re an existing real estate agent, it’s possible to upgrade to a full broker license in less than a year.
In this guide, you’ll learn exactly what it takes to get your Delaware real estate broker license.
Contents
- How Much Money Can a Real Estate Broker Make in Delaware?
- Delaware Broker Qualifications
- 6 Steps to Become a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Delaware
- Reciprocity and Portability for Delaware Brokers
- Resources to Start Successful Brokerage in Delaware
How Much Money Can a Real Estate Broker Make in Delaware?
Like real estate brokers in other states, the vast majority of Delaware brokers earn their salaries via commission, taking a portion of each real estate sale that they and their agents close.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for a Delaware real estate broker is $76,560. While this is slightly below the national average for brokers, it’s well above the mean annual salary of $46,670 for real estate agents in Delaware.
Delaware Broker Qualifications
To qualify for a real estate broker license in Delaware, you must:
- Be at least eighteen years old;
- Have a high school diploma or equivalent;
- Meet the minimum real estate agent or broker experience requirements;
- Successfully complete Delaware’s 99-hour broker pre-licensing education; and
- Pass the Delaware real estate broker licensing examination.
6 Steps to Become a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Delaware
Delaware broker licensing is governed by the Department of State’s Division of Professional Regulation (DPR). The state’s process for qualifying and certifying brokers in Delaware boils down to five key steps:
- Experience
- Education
- Examination
- Application
Step #1. Satisfy the Delaware Broker Experience Requirement
To be licensed as a real estate broker in Delaware, you must have been actively licensed as a real estate agent in Delaware (or an agent or broker in a different jurisdiction) for at least five continuous years prior to your application. In addition, three of those five years must have been spent actively practicing real estate (i.e., representing buyers or sellers in transaction).
Finally, when applying for your license, you must submit documentation of at least 30 sales or lease transactions that you completed during the five years immediately before your application.
Note that timeshare or property management transactions do not satisfy this requirement.
Step #2. Complete the Delaware Broker Education Course
Delaware real estate broker applicants must complete 99 classroom hours of broker pre-licensing education through an institution accredited by the Delaware Real Estate Commission. This course covers the following real estate principles and concepts:
- Brokerage Management (30 Hours)
- Real Estate Documents (6 Hours)
- Valuing Real Property (6 Hours)
- Real Estate Financing (9 Hours)
- Landlord Tenant Code/Property Management/Condominiums (9 Hours)
- Legal and Governmental Aspects of Real Estate (15 Hours)
- Real Estate Investment (12 Hours)
- Real Estate Ethics (6 Hours)
- Real Estate Math (3 Hours)
Finally, your broker education provider will administer an end-of-course examination. This exam is separate from the Delaware state broker licensing exam. You must pass with a score of 75% or higher in order to complete the course.
To see a list of approved Delaware broker education providers, click here.
Step #3. Pass the Delaware Real Estate Broker Exam
To complete your Delaware real estate broker licensing qualifications, you must pass the Delaware real estate brokers exam.
The Delaware real estate brokers exam is produced and administered by PearsonVUE, and consists of 130 multiple-choice questions split into two sections for general (80 questions) and Delaware-specific topics (50 questions). Examinees have a total of 4 hours to complete the exam, and must receive a score of 75% or higher in order to pass.
PearsonVUE offers a Candidate Handbook with a full overview for examinees. The handbook includes procedures for scheduling and taking the exam, as well as a range of included topics, sample questions, and suggested study materials.
To schedule your exam and find a nearby test center, visit PearsonVUE’s website.
Step #5. Submit your application for Delaware broker licensure.
Finally, once you’ve passed the Delaware broker exam and received your score report, you can apply for licensure by filling out and submitting the broker application form. This application must be signed and notarized prior to sending.
Brokers in Delaware fall into two categories:
- Broker: also known as a “broker of record,” a full broker is owner-operator of his or her own real estate firm.
- Associate Broker: working under the supervision of a broker of record, an associate broker does not have primary responsibility for day-to-day management and supervision of a brokerage.
When filling out your broker application, be sure to indicate which license type you’re seeking. Once your application is approved, a license will be issued to you by the DPR.
Reciprocity and Portability for Delaware Brokers
If you’re a licensed real estate broker from another state, you’ll face some restrictions when it comes to practicing real estate in Delaware. For instance, Delaware only allows out-of-state brokers to conduct business remotely. This means you can send clients to view listings, submit offers, and negotiate transactions in Delaware, so long as you remain in your licensing state.
Some states have reciprocity or mutual recognition agreements, which allow real estate brokers from other states to more easily earn their in-state license by using their out-of-state broker license as proof. Delaware offers reciprocity with every other state, provided that applicants pass the state-specific portion of the Delaware brokers exam and provide proof that they meet the experience requirements outlined above.
Resources to Start Successful Brokerage in Delaware
Once you’ve received your Delaware real estate broker license, you can begin building your own brokerage, or join an existing firm as an associate broker. Regardless of which route you choose, here are some helpful tips and resources to get your broker business off to a strong start.
Real Estate Broker Website
While there are countless ways to advertise your real estate brokerage online, all of these methods lead to one place: your website. To ensure you’re maximizing the return on your marketing efforts, be sure to invest in a professional real estate broker website that integrates with your MLS listings, offers a mobile-ready design, and includes valuable content about your business and market.
Resources for Real Estate Broker Websites:
Real Estate Ratings & Reviews
Modern real estate consumers place a lot of confidence in reviews: a recent Zillow survey found that 64 percent of millennial homebuyers consider online real estate reviews and ratings to be an important factor when choosing a real estate professional to work with.
To ensure that you’re taking full advantage of your online ratings and reviews, consider a real estate testimonial platform like RealSatisfied. RealSatisfied can help you capture feedback to improve your new brokerage, as well as collect and syndicate positive reviews to all the places your audience spends their time.
Resources for Client Feedback & Testimonials:
- How to Harness the Power of Positive Real Estate Reviews
- How to Get Real Estate Testimonials: Techniques and Tools for Agents
Real Estate Content Marketing
A real estate website is only effective if you can convince your target audience to visit. By creating useful and unique content on your website in the form of a blog, neighborhood pages, and other helpful resources, you can show buyers and sellers your expertise and drive more traffic via search engines.
Maintaining and producing this kind of content takes effort, but it also has major benefits. In fact, content marketing costs 62 percent less than traditional marketing, and produces three times as many leads.
Resources for Real Estate Content Marketing:
- 101 Amazing Blog Post Ideas For Your Real Estate Website
- 20 Time-Saving Real Estate Blog Ideas for Agents
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