When it comes to qualifications related to real estate management, the most well-known are real estate agents and real estate appraisers, but in recent years, various qualifications have been established as the work has become more specialized. In this article, we will explain the work content and difficulty of qualifications related to real estate management, along with the latest information.

Diverse real estate qualifications emerge as work becomes more specialized and specialized

Nowadays, it is becoming common for real estate agents to divide up a wide range of real estate tasks, such as buying and selling, leasing, property management, and real estate development. In that sense, it can be said that real estate tasks are becoming more segmented and specialized.

As a result, in order to properly deal with the various problems and troubles that arise in real estate management, a certain level of specialized knowledge is now required. Against this background, the legal system has been improved, and various qualifications have been created to prove that you have knowledge and skills related to real estate.

8 qualifications related to real estate management

It is easier to understand qualifications related to real estate management if you focus on the type of work they are designed to perform. Here we will introduce eight major real estate qualifications.

Real estate transaction specialist

A real estate agent (real estate broker) is a national qualification based on the Real Estate Brokerage Business Act.
In order to obtain a real estate license, a company must have a full-time real estate agent on staff, and explaining important matters at the time of contracting, and signing important matters explanation documents and sales contracts are the exclusive duties of the real estate agent. It can be said that a real estate agent is an essential qualification for operating a real estate business.

The real estate license exam is the most popular and largest national exam in Japan, with around 200,000 people taking it every year. People from a wide range of industries take the exam, including not only the real estate industry, but also finance, construction, and retail and restaurant development.

Real estate appraiser

A real estate appraiser is a nationally qualified professional whose exclusive right is to appraise real estate.
Real estate appraisal reports are used not only for public purposes such as public land price announcements, standard land valuations for inheritance tax and fixed asset tax, and judicial land price evaluations, but also as important documents for collateral evaluations by real estate funds such as J-REITs and financial institutions.

Land and house surveyor

A land and house surveyor is a specialist who handles the registration procedures for land indication, as well as the associated surveying, boundary determination, and consultation on dispute resolution regarding boundary. Since the application procedures for indication registration are the exclusive business of land and house surveyors, indication registration involving subdivision, consolidation, and boundary determination is entrusted to a land and house surveyor rather than a judicial scrivener.
Surveyors also carry out surveying work, but they mainly survey bridges, roads, and buildings. Land and house surveyors are different in that they handle registration application work.

Administrative operations chief

The Property Management Specialist was established in 2001 as a national qualification required primarily for condominium management. The exclusive duties of a Property Management Specialist are to explain important matters when a condominium management company concludes a management contract with the condominium management association, to sign important matters explanation documents and contracts, and to report on management operations.
Apartment management companies are required to have one property management manager for every 30 management associations, so this is an essential qualification for management companies.

Apartment Management Specialist

The Condominium Manager is a national qualification that was established in 2001, just like the Property Management Officer, to support condominium management associations and residents in managing the condominium. It is affectionately known as "Mankan."
Because this is an exclusive title, anyone other than a condominium management specialist is not permitted to use the title "condominium management specialist" or any other confusingly similar title.
It seems that in many cases, people who are already real estate agents or property management managers obtain qualifications in order to expand the scope of their work.

Rental real estate business manager

This is a new national qualification that was recognized in 2021 and is recognized as a registration requirement for "business managers" who must be employed at businesses that perform rental management operations.
Real estate agents who meet certain conditions can also register as business managers, so the various tasks of business managers are not exclusive to rental property management consultants. However, given the current situation in which more than 80% of real estate owners outsource management to rental property management companies and many real estate agents are engaged in rental property management as their main business, this qualification is likely to attract more and more attention in the future.

Certified Real Estate Management Officer (USA)

The Certified Property Manager (CPM) in the US is said to be the highest qualification in real estate management (property management) certified by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). It has a long history, with IREM being established in the wake of the financial panic of 1933, and CPM being born in 1935. There are currently over 20,000 IREM members and over 8,000 CPMs, who maintain high ethical standards and industry standards in real estate management.

Certified Real Estate Consulting Master

The Certified Real Estate Consulting Master is a qualification that certifies that you have the knowledge and ability to provide consulting services in the areas of effective real estate utilization, investment management, inheritance planning, etc. Formerly known as the "Real Estate Consulting Skills Registered Person."

It is considered an important qualification in the real estate fund industry because it is recognized as one of the qualifications that meets the requirements for becoming a business manager when operating real estate funds (real estate specified joint ventures) or real estate investment advisory businesses.

Difficulty of real estate qualification

Among real estate-related qualifications, the real estate appraiser is one of the most difficult qualifications to obtain, on par with the certified public accountant and tax accountant qualifications. Rather than taking the exam as a step up while working in real estate, it seems that many people study for the exam with the aim of becoming a real estate appraiser from the beginning.
The Land and House Surveyor qualification is also highly specialized and difficult to obtain. In addition to legal knowledge such as the Registration Act, knowledge and skills such as surveying and drawing are also required, so it can be said to be somewhat different from other real estate qualifications.

As for other exams, they cannot be compared in general because the test subjects and contents are different, but the real estate license is said to be the gateway to not only real estate qualifications but also legal qualifications. Many people first obtain the real estate license and then obtain other qualifications according to the specialization of their work.
The Rental Property Management Qualification, which will become a national qualification from 2021, is a qualification that will attract attention in the future, but given the high pass rate of around 30%, it can be considered an introductory qualification before obtaining the Real Estate Broker qualification.

Real estate qualifications are becoming more and more popular

As times change, real estate management work has become more diverse, and people in various positions, such as owners, residents, and management associations, need support. As various contract types such as subleasing, small-scale real estate investments, and private lodgings have emerged, problems not seen before have become more common. Real estate agents will continue to be the core of real estate qualifications, but we may be entering an era in which professionals with double or triple qualifications will be relied upon depending on the complexity of the work.