The spine of this site
Every content area, at the weight DRE publishes
California publishes the approximate weight of each examination content area. Most states do not. That single fact makes study priority a published number rather than someone's opinion, and it is why this entire site is organised by area rather than by course subject.
The seven areas
Ordered by weight, heaviest first. The bar under each is scaled against the largest area rather than against 100, so the gap between 25% and 8% reads at a glance.
- Area 125%
Practice of Real Estate and Disclosures
The largest area by a wide margin, and the one most study plans leave until last. It is where trust accounts, fair housing, advertising, supervision, DRE discipline and every mandated disclosure live.
- Questions on the exam
- about 38
- Sub-topics
- 20
- Practice questions here
- 50
- Area 217%
Laws of Agency and Fiduciary Duties
Who you represent, when that duty begins, and what you owe someone you do not represent. California runs its own disclosure regime and permits dual agency with consent, which is where borrowed national study material fails.
- Questions on the exam
- about 26
- Sub-topics
- 8
- Practice questions here
- 34
- Area 315%
Property Ownership and Land Use Controls and Regulations
What can be owned, how it is held, what limits it, and who does the limiting. Water rights and environmental hazards carry more weight in California than almost anywhere else.
- Questions on the exam
- about 23
- Sub-topics
- 11
- Practice questions here
- 30
- Area 414%
Property Valuation and Financial Analysis
Three short sub-topics carrying fourteen percent, and most of the arithmetic on the exam. The three approaches to value, and the income analysis that turns a rent roll into a number.
- Questions on the exam
- about 21
- Sub-topics
- 3
- Practice questions here
- 28
- Area 512%
Contracts
Formation, listing agreements, buyer representation agreements, offers, options, and the advance fee rules that are distinctly Californian.
- Questions on the exam
- about 18
- Sub-topics
- 8
- Practice questions here
- 24
- Area 69%
Financing
Deeds of trust rather than mortgages, trustee's sale rather than judicial foreclosure, and the loan brokerage rules that sit between DRE and the SAFE Act.
- Questions on the exam
- about 14
- Sub-topics
- 8
- Practice questions here
- 18
- Area 78%
Transfer of Property
The smallest area. Title insurance, deeds, escrow, tax aspects, and transfer under court supervision.
- Questions on the exam
- about 12
- Sub-topics
- 7
- Practice questions here
- 16
Where the question counts come from
DRE publishes a percentage for each area, never a question count. Every count on this site is that percentage multiplied by 150 and rounded, which is arithmetic we did rather than a figure DRE issued. Because each one rounds independently, the seven derived counts sum to 152 rather than 150. We publish that discrepancy instead of quietly adjusting an area down to make the total look tidy.
How to use the weights
Three practical consequences, in the order they matter.
01
Allocate hours by weight, not by interest
The three heaviest areas are 57% of the examination between them. If your study time is not roughly 57% spent there, it is misallocated. The weighted study planner does this arithmetic for you.
Open the study planner02
Practise in the same proportion
A practice set that gives equal weight to all seven areas does not resemble the real form. The mock exam here is built to the published weights using largest-remainder allocation, so the mix matches.
Take a weighted mock03
Read a failed result through the weights
DRE gives a failed candidate a percentage for each area, and states plainly that you cannot recover the overall score by averaging them. The retake worksheet ranks your gaps by weighted loss instead.
Diagnose a failed attempt