What does it take to be a real estate agent in Japan?

[bjergsen]

Hi everyone.

Just wondering what the requirements are to be a real estate agent in Japan. Is it extremely tough to be one?

Looking for input regarding this question. Thank you everyone.

 

[Mike Cash]

You have to be licensed. The licensing exams are in Japanese and the pass rates are under 20%. You also need about three million yen.

https://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/宅地建物取引士

宅地建物取引業とはどんな免許なのか？ ｜ 仲介手数料無料のウチコミ！コラム

If this is something you are planning to do here but don't have sufficient Japanese literacy to look up for yourself then you either need to hit the books like the devil himself was after you or you need to reconsider your plans.

Why does your profile say you are in America but your flag shows as Australia?

 

[bjergsen]

Thanks for the reply Mike

Does this apply to ALL real estate agents? Or only those who wish to get a license will have to pass the exam? Based on my limited understanding, in Australia it works like this: You can be a real estate agent, the "lowest" rank, and it is fine if you do not possess a license. However if you want to be more involved and have more responsibilities etc. then it is compulsory to get that license, which, yes, will require exams/tests. Is this the same as in Japan? Or is it absolutely ALL real estate agents must obtain a license?

Currently I am living in America

Thanks Mike

 

[Mike Cash]

It gets a little more complicated than I have the time to go into researching the details of. I would assume there are people who work for real estate agents in some capacity and under their supervision who aren't themselves individually licensed. There are also people doing the work illegally.

Is this something you are looking at doing in Japan? How is your Japanese?

 

[bjergsen]

Well yes, I just think that in Australia you don't have to start your career having the licensed straight away. You can start from the bottom, and eventually get that license, but not straight away.

I have always been interested, I just like the real estate industry. Don't want to make it sound like a cliche "My passion is in real estate industry" etc. but it really is.

My Japanese while not native level, is I think pretty acceptable. I am able to have conversations. I can speak 1 more additional language for a total of 3.

So Mike - just to confirm again: While real estate agents at some point in their career will have to pass the exam and get their license, surely there are other entry level roles where a license is not required straight away?

 

[Mike Cash]

surely there are other entry level roles where a license is not required straight away?

Probably. The larger question would be one of visa eligibility.

My Japanese while not native level, is I think pretty acceptable. I am able to have conversations.

"Able to have conversations" and "able to conduct business" are worlds apart, unfortunately. How is your Japanese literacy? Would you be prepared to function in an environment where all documentation is written in Japanese?

 

[Glenski]

bjergsen,
You don't seem to be answering Mike very clearly about your Japanese language ability. I agree with his statement regarding conversation. When he asked, he meant more than just holding conversations. Obviously, a real estate agent would have to be able to read and write at quite a high level, as he indicated in his latest post.

Do you have a JLPT score/level? When was the last time you took it? How well can you read and write?

How long are you going to stay in the U.S.?

 

[Glenski]

Here's a 2009 discussion about it.
Japanese Real Estate Agents - japan-guide.com forum

Here are names and contact info for English speaking Century 21 agents in Japan. Maybe they can help more.
Foreign Language Speaking Staff | Century21 Japan Ltd.

More offices you might want to contact.
Profile of Japan

 

[johnnyG]

In some cities these days, Chinese-Japanese bilinguals are probably in as much demand as Japanese-only agents.

 

[S.K.]

Hi everyone.

Just wondering what the requirements are to be a real estate agent in Japan. Is it extremely tough to be one?

Looking for input regarding this question. Thank you everyone.

Hi, I'm a real estate agent in Japan. It's going to be extremely though or extremely easy depending on what kind of requirements you're talking about. If you're talking about the bare-bones requirements for getting hired then: University (or technical school) degree + JLPT 1.
That's it.

Most people with JLPT 1 can barely understand the news though, let alone negotiate the interest rate on a house loan or explain all the technicalities on the contract of an investment property. We're talking about a level of Japanese that's above the average Japanese person. If you don't have that then you'll be stuck dealing with foreigners only which severely limits your amount of prospective clients.

Then you have the real estate exam that Mike mentioned. The passing rate is actually only 15%, not 20% and it's held only once a year. It's not required to pass to work in real estate but no certification = you won't be the one explaining or putting your stamp on the contracts = a lot less money in your pockets.

If you're really interested in working in real estate in Japan and think you can at least get the JLPT 1 then you should give it a shot! Worst case scenario: you don't have any clients for the first year or two and live on the basic 250,000yen monthly salary.

 

[Mike Cash]

the pass rates are under 20%

The passing rate is actually only 15%, not 20%

It varies, but hasn't been over 20% since 1982 so for the purposes of this discussion I thought saying under 20% both sufficient and correct.

I believe if one were to get overly technical about the definition of "agent" it probably would not be absolutely correct to term unlicensed employees of a real estate agency real estate agents, but we sort of lack a substitute term so there we are.

 

[S.K.]

It varies, but hasn't been over 20% since 1982 so for the purposes of this discussion I thought saying under 20% both sufficient and correct.

I believe if one were to get overly technical about the definition of "agent" it probably would not be absolutely correct to term unlicensed employees of a real estate agency real estate agents, but we sort of lack a substitute term so there we are.

Sorry, I didn't see the word "under".