Texas real estate exam study guide.
Study what moves the score.
A practical study guide for the 14 Texas sales agent content areas across the national and state portions, organized by item count, likely miss patterns, and what to drill next.
Pearson's handbook lists the combined sales appointment as 125 items and 240 minutes. For study planning, work from the scored content outlines: 80 scored national items and 40 scored Texas state-law items across 14 content areas, and you must pass both portions separately. Do not study all topics equally. Start with the highest-item weak areas, then use math drills, trap-wording practice, and timed mixed sets to confirm readiness.
Repair the score core
Start with the 8% and higher topics. They make up most of the exam and usually explain why a student is stuck below passing.
Separate math from law
Math is not one skill. Split commission, prorations, property tax, LTV, interest, and income formulas so you can see which setup is failing.
Use mixed practice last
Mixed practice is a readiness check after topic repair. If you use it too early, it only tells you that everything feels messy.
The 14 content areas, ranked by score impact.
The item counts come from the Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate content outlines. The study actions are Pass Texas coaching guidance based on how students usually lose points.
Showing 14 of 14 content areas
13%Real Estate Contracts and AgencyScore core
About 16 scored questions · 13% of the official outline
What to review
Contract essentials, the Statute of Frauds, offer and acceptance, contract classification, breach and remedies, plus how agency is created, terminated, and what duties are owed to clients versus customers. The single heaviest area on the national portion.
Common miss
Confusing void, voidable, unenforceable, executory, and executed. Those labels change the legal result.
Next drill
Sort every missed item by miss type: contract formation, classification, breach, remedy, or agency duty.
9%Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions & Property UseScore core
About 11 scored questions · 9% of the official outline
What to review
Real versus personal property and fixtures, the physical and economic characteristics of land, the three legal-description methods, and public and private land-use controls.
Common miss
Answering fixture and land-use questions from common sense instead of the legal test (MARIA / intent) and the rule that the more restrictive control wins.
Next drill
Practice classification scenarios: fixture or personal property, which description method, and which control governs.
9%Property Value and AppraisalScore core
About 11 scored questions · 9% of the official outline
What to review
Market value versus price, principles of value, the three approaches (sales comparison, cost, income), the three types of depreciation, and CMA versus BPO versus appraisal.
Common miss
Choosing the wrong valuation approach before calculating, or adjusting the subject instead of the comparable.
Next drill
For every appraisal miss, name the approach first, then solve the math or make the adjustment (Comparable Better Subtract).
8%Real Estate PracticeScore core
About 10 scored questions · 8% of the official outline
What to review
A broker's responsibilities, listing and brokerage agreements, federal Fair Housing, and risk management (supervision, antitrust, fraud, required insurance).
Common miss
Missing the protected class in a Fair Housing scenario, or not spotting an antitrust violation like price-fixing in casual conversation.
Next drill
Drill listing types, the protected classes, and the four antitrust violations until the correct action is automatic.
8%Forms of Ownership, Transfer & Recording of TitleScore core
About 9 scored questions · 8% of the official outline
What to review
The bundle of rights, estates (fee simple, defeasible, life estate), concurrent ownership, liens, mineral and surface rights, valid deed requirements, voluntary and involuntary transfer, and how recording gives notice and priority.
Common miss
Mixing deed validity with recording protection. A deed is valid between the parties even though recording protects against later third-party claims.
Next drill
Build a deed-and-title checklist and a co-ownership comparison (survivorship versus passes-to-heirs).
8%Property Disclosures and Environmental IssuesScore core
About 9 scored questions · 8% of the official outline
What to review
Property-condition and environmental hazards (lead-based paint, asbestos, radon, mold, USTs, flood), the federal statutes (CERCLA/SARA, EPA), and a licensee's disclosure obligations and liability.
Common miss
Forgetting that CERCLA liability is strict, joint-and-several, and retroactive, so a buyer can be liable for a prior owner's contamination.
Next drill
Drill hazard recognition and the Phase I versus Phase II distinction, plus what federal law requires versus state law.
6%Financing and SettlementStabilizer
About 7 scored questions · 6% of the official outline
What to review
Financing instruments and clauses, loan programs and lender requirements, federal financing regulation (TILA/Reg Z, TRID, RESPA, ECOA), and what happens at settlement and closing.
Common miss
Treating a RESPA kickback like a normal referral fee, or blending loan-program rules (FHA, VA, USDA, conventional) into one bucket.
Next drill
Drill note versus deed of trust, the loan programs, TRID timing, and the RESPA anti-kickback rule.
6%Real Estate Math CalculationsStabilizer
About 7 scored questions · 6% of the official outline
What to review
Area and acreage, valuation math, commission and splits, loan financing costs, settlement and proration math, investment returns, and property-management calculations.
Common miss
Starting arithmetic before naming the formula, and assuming a 365-day year or who owns the closing day when the question specifies it.
Next drill
Use mixed math sets. Before each calculation, write the formula name, units, and the proration convention the question states.
3%Commission Duties and Powers (TREC)Final pass
About 3 scored questions · 3% of the official outline
What to review
TREC's composition, duties, and powers, how complaints are investigated and heard, penalties for violations including unlicensed activity, and the Real Estate Recovery Trust Account.
Common miss
Thinking TREC writes the statute. The Texas Legislature writes TRELA; TREC enforces it and adopts the rules.
Next drill
Map the complaint sequence (investigation, hearing, appeal) and separate the Legislature's role from TREC's.
3%LicensingFinal pass
About 3 scored questions · 3% of the official outline
What to review
Activities requiring a license and exemptions, business entities, the licensing process (education, exam, sponsorship, denial, appeals), and license maintenance and renewal.
Common miss
Assuming a license alone lets you practice. A Texas sales agent must be sponsored by an active broker to perform brokerage.
Next drill
Make a rule card for each requirement and deadline: trigger, required action, and consequence.
8%Standards of ConductScore core
About 9 scored questions · 8% of the official outline
What to review
Professional ethics, grounds for discipline, the unauthorized practice of law, trust accounts, fee splitting, rebates, and advertising rules under the TREC Rules.
Common miss
Confusing commingling (mixing trust funds with operating funds) with conversion (using trust funds for the broker), or missing a blind-ad advertising violation.
Next drill
Drill trust-account handling, what counts as the unauthorized practice of law, and advertising rules that require the broker's name.
9%Agency / Brokerage (Texas)Score core
About 11 scored questions · 9% of the official outline
What to review
Texas agency disclosure (IABS), intermediary practice, duties and minimum services, broker-sales-agent relationships, and proper use of unlicensed assistants. The heaviest state-portion area.
Common miss
Calling a single broker representing both sides 'dual agency.' Texas uses the intermediary relationship with written consent, not dual agency.
Next drill
Drill intermediary mechanics: written consent, appointed license holders, and the broker's responsibility for a sales agent's acts.
8%Contracts (Texas Promulgated Forms)Score core
About 9 scored questions · 8% of the official outline
What to review
TREC-promulgated contracts, forms, and addenda, the Statute of Frauds, the termination-option period, and the statutory Seller's Disclosure Notice.
Common miss
Forgetting that license holders may only fill in the blanks on promulgated forms. Drafting custom clauses is the unauthorized practice of law.
Next drill
Learn the major forms and addenda, the option-period mechanics, and which transactions require the seller's disclosure.
4%Special Topics (Texas Law)Final pass
About 5 scored questions · 4% of the official outline
What to review
Community property, homestead protections and tax exemptions, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, wills and estates, landlord-tenant, foreclosure and short sales, recording, mechanic's liens, the Veterans Land Board, and HOAs.
Common miss
Confusing the homestead tax exemption (reduces taxable value) with the homestead creditor protection (blocks forced sale). They are separate.
Next drill
Drill community versus separate property, the two homestead concepts, and the DTPA consumer remedies.
Three state-law areas grouped on this page.
These official areas do not have a separate guide page. Their lessons are gathered here, and area cards and breadcrumbs across the site link to these directories.
Turn the guide into a 7-day repair loop.
If you already have a score report or diagnostic result, do not start from the top blindly. Use the weakest high-weight topic first, then move through this loop until your mixed practice stops exposing the same miss.
- Day 1List weak topics and mark each official weight.
- Days 2 to 4Repair the heaviest weak topic with scenario practice.
- Day 5Run math or wording drills for the miss type you keep repeating.
- Day 6Take a timed mixed set and log every miss by topic.
- Day 7Retest only after the same weak topic stops leaking points.
The study traps that make the exam feel bigger.
Most study-guide mistakes are planning mistakes. Fix the order, add retrieval practice, and the 14 content areas become easier to manage.
Texas exam study guide questions.
What should I study first for the Texas real estate exam?+
Is this study guide a pre-license course?+
How many topics are on the Texas sales agent exam?+
Can I pass by reading a study guide only?+
How should I use this if I already failed once?+
Content-area names, item counts, exam length, scoring, and candidate logistics were checked against current TREC and Pearson VUE materials. Study priorities and drill suggestions are Pass Texas coaching guidance, not official TREC rules.
A study guide should point to the next session.
Use the topic guide to understand the exam, then check readiness, try sample wording, drill math, and move into app practice when you need repetition.