By JOANNE MCFADDEN
The Albany Business Review

Real estate schools are seeing a rush as a result of changes to the state's Real Property Law that will, as of July 1, make it harder to become an agent or broker.

Students will now have to complete 75 hours - up from 45 - of course work to obtain a real estate sales license, and 120 hours for a broker's license, compared to the previous 90-hour requirement. In order to apply for a broker's license, an agent must have worked under the supervision of a broker for two years, revised from one year under the old law.

Additionally, veteran agents licensed for more than 15 years will have to complete 22.5 hours of continuing education every two years in order to renew their licenses. Those credit hours must include three hours of course work focused on fair housing and/or discrimination in sales and rentals.

Priscilla Toth, director of professional development for the New York State Association of Realtors, said steeper education requirements will help agents who seek to be licensed in other states, as lower education requirements here have caused some states to shy away from reciprocity agreements.

Brenda Whitman of Whitman Real Estate Professionals in Latham said more knowledge is always a good thing.

"If you get one good thing out of (the extra training), it was worth it," she said. "It's such an insignificant amount of time compared to all the time we spend in real estate."