Knowledge is Power
EmPOWER Yourself with Professional Education to Boost Your Career.
As your power source, MAAR offers a variety of real estate courses (80 per year, on average) developed locally for our specific needs, and taught by nationally-acclaimed instructors to help you fulfill education requirements and keep you up-to-date in the ever-changing real estate industry. MAAR members have access to a wide-range of programs and services offered by the National Association of REALTORS® and its affiliated institutes, societies and councils. You can search courses and sort by specific category on our calendar, or the MAAR CE Shop online.
Watch this video to find out why professional education is vital to 2011 MAAR President Leon Dickson's career.
| To further assist its members, MAAR maintains an Education Foundation that funds scholarships for members pursuing professional development and other educational opportunities. Over the years, the purpose of the MAAR Education Foundation has remained consistent. The Mission Statement reads: “Promote, research, encourage study and provide resources to affect the business practice of the real estate industry.” |
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The Foundation participates with local colleges and universities and funds real estate projects on the collegiate level. The MAAR Education Foundation has provided research grants for studies as wide-ranging as the effect of electromagnetic fields on property values, home sales mapping data, a real estate specific information directory, and home buyers satisfaction surveys. These papers have been distributed to professional journals and are available at MAAR as well as public libraries.
The Foundation was an integral part in the establishment of the Morris Fogelman Chair of Excellence at the University of Memphis. Today, the University of Memphis is one of only a handful of universities in the United States with a chair of excellence in real estate.
The MAAR Education Foundation awards $14,000 annually in professional designation
scholarships for MAAR members. Applications are accepted every spring and fall.
Professional Designations
Research conducted by the National Association of REALTORS® finds that, year after year, agents holding designations earn substantially more. Designations and certifications acknowledge experience and expertise in various real estate sectors. Approximately 27% of MAAR members have at least one professional designation.
Agents holding the ABR® designation have consistently earned twice as much as agents with no designations. CRS Designees make up less than 4% of the REALTOR® population, but are accountable for over 23% of the business. CRS Designees earn a median income of $85,000 annually- nearly 3 times the $29,400 median income of REALTORS® serving as sales associates. (Source: 2009 NAR Member Profile)
Do you remember every single lesson and every single great idea from every single designation course you’ve ever taken? Probably not! That’s why MAAR allows members with a professional designation to audit courses they’ve already taken at a reduced fee – anywhere from $40 to $100 per class, depending on the class. It’s a great way to update your skill set, as well as pick up those great ideas that might not have sunk in the first time around! And, if the course is taken in a different renewal period, you will also receive continuing education for repeating it.
Don't forget about our $99 Education Express Card that allows you to attend ANY 2-to-4 hour CE Course in 2011!