The majority of real estate designations and real estate certifications are awarded by a large selection of national and regional Associations, Institutes, Councils and Societies and cover many different professions and occupations such as real estate brokerage, mortgage, appraisal, inspection etc., as well as various functions such as real estate sales, management, administration, etc., and numerous types of real estate such as residential, commercial, agriculture, resorts, etc.

It is not hard to understand that the alphabet soup of three and four-letter acronyms (certifications and designations) have become the mainstay of identifying a good qualified real estate agent as long as anyone can remember.

Real estate designations and real estate certifications are especially popular among residential real estate agents. Identifying exactly how many of them hold a designation and certification is a complex task, but it is estimated that 400,000 (see research here) real estate agents hold one or more of the www.redesignations.com .

It is further estimated that these 400,000 real estate professionals account for the lion's share of the 6 to 7 million residential real estate transactions that take place every year. No accurate statistics are available but many believe that a 93% - 7% rule applies meaning that ninety-three percent of the business is done by seven percent of the real estate agents and brokers.  It is estimated that almost all of these 7% of agents hold one or more real estate designation or certification.

Second only to the National Association of Realtors®, The RealtyU® Group owns, manages and offers the largest selection of real estate course that qualify for a designation or certification, such as:


AHS® - Accredited Home-Staging Specialist
Available in classroom through RealtyU Affiliates – click here to search our offline course directory
Available online via RealtyU Online – click here
Accredited Home-Staging Specialist website

ASR® - Accredited Seller Representative
Available in classroom through RealtyU Affiliates – click here to search our offline course directory
Available online via RealtyU Online – click here
Seller Agency Council website

ALHS - Accredited Luxury Homes Specialist
Available in classroom through RealtyU Affiliates – click here to search our offline course directory
Available online via RealtyU Online – click here
Luxury Homes Council website

CNS - Certified Neighborhood Specialist
Available in classroom through RealtyU Affiliates – click here to search our offline course directory
Available online via RealtyU Online – click here
Council of Neighborhood Specialists website

CSP – Certified Short-Sale Professional
Available in classroom through RealtyU Affiliates – click here to search our offline course directory
Available online via RealtyU Online – click here
Council of Short-Sales Professionals website

GHS – Generational Housing Specialist
Coming soon at a RealtyU Affiliates near you – click here to search a school near you
Generational Housing Society website