Enrollment in real estate classes at Inland Northwest colleges is on the rise as enrollees seek qualification to reach for their share of an increasingly lucrative real estate pie.


Classes offered by North Idaho College at its Work Force Training Center, in Post Falls, to prepare students for licensing exams are full, says Robert Ketchum, the colleges vice president of instruction and the training centers executive director. There is a waiting list of prospective students who want to enroll.


People are anxious to become licensed; while some people are taking the classes to get a better knowledge base, most are taking the classes (to prepare to become licensed) to sell real estate, says Ketchum. Its interesting how many people are taking the classes. Many thought enrollment would have peaked by now, but it hasnt. Its gone through many cycles in my tenure, but this is the longest sustained period of demand for real estate education.


About 60 students sign up each month for the classes, which involve a total of four weeks of instruction, says Dennie Seymour, the centers director for work force development. Students pay a total of $530 for the two classes, which are taken one after the other. The college requires students to pass the first block of classes in order to take the second. In 2004, 333 students completed the second block of classes, up 82 people from the year before, the college says.


Don Epley, a professor of finance and real estate at Washington State University at Spokane, says enrollments in the real estate classes he teaches are some of the biggest he has ever had. In the 2004-05 fall and spring semesters, enrollment of full-time equivalent students at WSUs Spokane and Pullman classes taught by WSU-Spokane faculty increased 57 percent, to just over 28 from 18 the previous year.


Epley, who teaches students in Spokane and also in Pullman and Vancouver through WSUs televised education system, says that between 45 and 60 students are enrolled in the universitys real estate classes currently. WSU graduates between 15 and 20 students with real estate degrees every year.


Community Colleges of Spokane adjusted to the hot real estate market last year by introducing classes for home appraisal and home inspection at its training and education center, says Renae Bentley, a program coordinator for the center. It costs enrollees roughly $1,200 to complete the home appraisal classes.


Bentley says shes been told that there is a shortage of home appraisers in the Spokane area.


The most interest is in the home appraisal classes, Bentley says. The public has been asking for these classes for two years. They are very popular because of the job market.


The training center offers three classes that enable students to become certified home appraisers after they complete the courses and a 2,000-hour apprenticeship, Bentley says.


We have 42 people enrolled already in appraisal courses, she says. Were working on setting up another classroom and the dates of the class. Were also talking about adding additional real estate classes.


Concerns that the market has become oversaturated with Realtors havent slowed students from enrolling in the North Idaho College licensing classes.


One could argue that oversaturation is already the case, but as long as theres demand, were going to keep offering the classes, Ketchum says.


The Coeur dAlene Association of Realtors says that the number of licensed Realtors in Kootenai County has more than doubled in the last five years, rising to 840 members in February, when the association added 203 members, from about 400 realtors in 2000. Meanwhile, the Spokane Association of Realtors has about 1,500 agents selling residential real estate using the Multiple Listing Service, up from about 1,300 in 2003, says Rob Higgins, the associations longtime executive vice president.


Higgins says a number of real estate and other private companies offer classes for people who want to become licensed real estate agents.


Tracy Rockwell, president of the Rockwell Institute, a longtime Spokane real estate school, says enrollment in that schools classes has increased significantly over the last few years, although she didnt have exact enrollment figures.


Richard Kohles, president of the Coeur dAlene Multiple Listing Service and a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty, says there are fewer than 1,000 active MLS residential listings in Kootenai County, and 937 Realtors who pay to use the MLS.


Gross real estate sales from properties listed in the Coeur dAlene MLS system, which includes most of North Idaho and parts of Eastern Washington, were about $1.2 billion in 2004, up from about $600 million in 2003.


In my 20-year tenure, I have seen little cycles, but nothing as explosive as what we have right now, Kohles says. Were amazed by our market.


Still, he adds, We definitely have enough realtors. For people coming into the business its going to be very difficult for them because theyre going to have a lot of costs. I hope thats being communicated to the people who are getting their license.


Kohles says people starting in real estate should expect to pay thousands to cover basic operating costs such as advertising, association fees, computers, phones, and transportation.


One lady in our office is a second-year realtor, and she said she spent $11,000 in one year, Kohles says. A lot of people dont realize that you need to have a reasonably nice car. Youre going to be driving clients all of the time, or going to meet them. You cant have a car thats breaking down all of the time. Real estate is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


North Idaho College says the instructor who teaches its real estate classes cautions students about the competitive nature of the business.


Attrition is high in the field, Ketchum says. People get in, try it, and then move on to something else if theyre not successful. Its not an easy business, and there is tremendous competition. Our instructor tells them that.


Its difficult to generalize about the demographics of those who take the classes, Seymour says.


I know many school teachers who have retired, and decided to get their real estate license, Seymour says. Others may have jobs in real estate. They might be a receptionist, or an assistant that shows property, but doesnt write the contract. I know some agencies are hiring people, and saying to them Go get your license.


WSU offers four-year degrees in real estate that include classes in real estate investments, real estate valuation, finance, and real estate law.


The real estate industry is composed of a number of niches, Epley says. We typically dont teach the same things as the community colleges do. Theres room for them, and theres room for us. I have the same problem as a law school does. When you earn a law degree, youre supposed to know how to be an attorney. But there is a whole lot that law school doesnt teach you. We also have to teach real estate in the real world, the markets, supply and demand, so that the students can do it all when they graduate.