Real estate salesperson questions: worked examples from the rules

People search for the real estate exam as though one national paper exists. It does not, and knowing that changes how you prepare: you are working toward provider assessments across a defined body of law, not one sitting.

What do the assessments actually draw on?

Agency law: an instruction you cannot follow

A vendor asks you not to disclose known weathertightness issues to buyers. What do you do?

You cannot withhold it. The obligation not to mislead runs to prospective buyers as well as to your client, and a licensee who knows of a defect of that kind cannot stay silent on instruction. If the vendor insists, the relationship, not the disclosure, is what has to change.

Why the plausible wrong answer fails: the instinct that you act for the vendor and therefore follow the vendor's instructions treats agency as unlimited. It is not.

Conduct rules: a prediction you cannot make

A buyer asks whether the property will grow in value. The correct handling is to avoid representing a prediction as fact and to point them to independent advice. The Rules require that you do not mislead, and a confident forecast about future value is a representation you cannot support.

Why the plausible wrong answer fails: hedged optimism is still a representation. "The area has been strong and I'd expect that to continue" is the answer most people give and the one the Rules are aimed at.

Property law: an interest that survives the sale

A title shows an easement in favour of a neighbouring property. What does that mean for a buyer?

That someone else holds a right over part of the land, access, services, or similar, and it runs with the title rather than expiring on sale. The exam point is that interests on a title bind the new owner, so identifying them and directing the buyer to legal advice is part of the job.

AML/CFT: an obligation you cannot waive

A purchaser is reluctant to provide identification, saying they have bought property before. Customer due diligence is a statutory obligation on the agency, and having transacted previously does not satisfy it. AML/CFT requirements have applied to real estate agencies since 2019, and reluctance to complete due diligence is itself a matter to take seriously rather than a customer service problem to smooth over.

Offers: fairness to people who are not your client

Two offers arrive close together. What governs how you handle them?

Fairness to all parties and the duty not to mislead. Both offers must be presented to the vendor, and neither buyer may be given a misleading impression about the other's position to induce a higher offer.

Why the wrong answers are wrong

The pattern across all five is the same as in practice: the wrong answers are the ones that serve the transaction. Real estate regulation exists because the incentive to close a deal and the duty not to mislead pull in different directions, and the assessments test whether you know which one wins.

• Agency is limited. Acting for a vendor does not extend to following instructions that would mislead a buyer.
• Silence can mislead. Not saying something you know is not neutral ground.
• Statutory obligations are not customer service decisions. Due diligence is not a step you can waive to keep a purchaser comfortable.
• Duties run to people who are not your client. Prospective buyers are owed the duty not to mislead even though they are not paying you.

How should you use these?

As calibration rather than content. Provider assessments will not use these scenarios, and the transferable thing is the habit of asking which duty is engaged before deciding what a reasonable person would do. If the second question keeps arriving before the first, that is the habit worth changing in the fortnight before an assessment.

For the licensing pathway itself, the qualification and what happens after it, see how to become a real estate salesperson in New Zealand.