- Official section
- National broker portion
- Broker weight
- 100 scored questions across 11 content areas
- Expected scored items
- Current counts are 10 Ownership, 5 Land Use, 8 Valuation, 10 Financing, 19 Contracts, 13 Agency, 7 Disclosures, 3 Property Management, 6 Transfer of Title, 12 Practice of Real Estate, and 7 Math
National practice guide
Practice all 11 areas in the proportions PSI publishes
A national practice score is trustworthy only when the set resembles the blueprint. Fifty contract questions can make a contract-strong student feel ready while never testing land use, disclosures, title, property management, or math. Build the right mix, work it under time, and keep the area report visible beside the total.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What skill does this practice set measure?
Short answer: Practice the national portion from its 100-question blueprint. Contracts, Agency, and Practice of Real Estate total 44 questions. Property Ownership and Financing add 20. Valuation contributes 8, Disclosures 7, Math 7, Transfer of Title 6, Land Use 5, and Property Management 3. Learn each area in focused blocks, then mix them so you must identify the doctrine before answering. Use 150 minutes for full-length practice, with a two-pass plan and a review budget. Score every area using correct count over questions attempted, audit guesses, and classify errors as knowledge, distinction, reading, math, source, pacing, or answer change. Repair from current primary sources and prove transfer on fresh questions. Aim for at least 80% repeatedly, above the official 70% raw standard, without treating practice as a guarantee. A useful area report keeps the denominator visible. Two misses in Property Management can produce a low percentage from only three questions, while six Contracts misses represent a larger number of exposed points even if the area percentage looks higher. Use both figures, then resample small areas before making a large study decision. Also track omissions and time spent. A content score without pacing evidence cannot tell you whether the candidate knew the rule too slowly or never knew it at all.
The PSI outline gives an intended content distribution, not a promise that every visible question on one form will look exactly like its category label. Quantitative reasoning can appear in financing or valuation context, and a disclosure scenario can also involve agency. Experimental questions are not identified to candidates. Use the current booklet for exam policy and authoritative sources for federal law and regulated forms. This guide supports exam preparation, not legal, lending, appraisal, tax, property-management, or transaction advice. Sources were checked through August 1, 2026.
Ready to work the set?
These questions are original study items aligned to the published outline. They are not copied, recalled, or predicted PSI questions.
1. Which national area covers a recorded utility right to cross a parcel?
- Valuation
- Property Ownership
- Contracts
- Property Management
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Property Ownership
Property Ownership includes easements, rights of way, licenses, encroachments, liens, and their effects.
2. A city restricts building height through zoning. What kind of control is this?
- A private deed restriction
- An easement in gross
- A public land-use control
- A title-insurance exception
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A public land-use control
Zoning is an exercise of government police power. Deed restrictions and association covenants are private controls.
3. Which valuation approach is usually central for a stabilized apartment property purchased for its income stream?
- Income approach
- Tax-assessment approach
- Deed-recording approach
- Loan-to-value approach
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Income approach
The income approach relates value to the income stream when market participants buy the property for investment return.
4. Which document contains the borrower's promise to repay a real estate loan?
- Mortgage or security instrument
- Deed
- Title policy
- Promissory note
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Promissory note
The note evidences the debt. The mortgage or deed of trust secures that obligation with real property.
5. A seller changes the price before signing and returning a buyer's offer. What has the seller ordinarily made?
- An unqualified acceptance
- A counteroffer
- A recorded deed
- A unilateral closing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A counteroffer
Changing a material term creates a counteroffer that requires acceptance rather than accepting the original offer.
6. A licensee receives compensation from a seller. Does that fact alone prove the licensee represents the seller?
- Yes, payment always creates agency
- Yes, unless the buyer objects
- No, the relationship and authority control
- No, because compensation ends every agency
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No, the relationship and authority control
Compensation source does not by itself establish representation. Identify the agreement, conduct, disclosure, and authority.
7. A broker sees a large foundation crack. What is the soundest response within the ordinary broker role?
- Communicate the known red flag as required and recommend qualified investigation
- Diagnose the engineering cause
- Guarantee the foundation is safe
- Hide the crack if the seller requests it
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Communicate the known red flag as required and recommend qualified investigation
A broker can identify and communicate a known fact or red flag without acting as a structural engineer or concealing a material issue.
8. Which tenant-screening practice best supports lawful property management?
- Change income standards by protected class
- Steer families to one building
- Publish different rules for similar applicants
- Use documented neutral criteria consistently
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Use documented neutral criteria consistently
Consistent neutral criteria support fair housing compliance, subject to reasonable-accommodation duties and applicable law.
9. Does recording a deed replace valid delivery and acceptance?
- Yes, recording always creates intent
- No, recording supplies notice but does not replace delivery and acceptance
- Yes, if the deed is notarized
- No, because deeds cannot be recorded
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No, recording supplies notice but does not replace delivery and acceptance
Delivery and acceptance address effective transfer between the parties. Recordation concerns notice and priority.
10. Two competing brokerages agree that neither will charge below a stated commission. What issue is most directly raised?
- Legal market allocation
- Permitted steering
- Price fixing
- A title defect
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Price fixing
Competitors must set prices independently. An agreement on a minimum fee raises a horizontal price-fixing issue.
11. A borrower pays 1.5 points on a $300,000 loan. What is the charge?
- $4,500
- $45,000
- $2,000
- $300,001.50
Show answer and explanation
Answer: $4,500
One point equals 1% of loan amount. $300,000 x 0.015 = $4,500.
Which answer habits should you watch for?
- Trap
- Study only Contracts because it is largest.
- Correction
- The other 10 areas account for 81 scored questions.
- Trap
- Use an equal number of questions from every area.
- Correction
- A representative simulation follows the published 100-question distribution.
- Trap
- Combine national and Illinois scores.
- Correction
- Keep the separately scored portions independent.
- Trap
- Treat 70% once as secure readiness.
- Correction
- Build a repeated practice margin with fresh timed sets.
- Trap
- Count guessed correct answers as stable points.
- Correction
- Explain and retest uncertain correct answers.
- Trap
- Practice only direct definition questions.
- Correction
- Add scenarios requiring classification, sequence, and application.
- Trap
- Practice only focused chapter sets.
- Correction
- Use mixed sets where the tested area is not announced.
- Trap
- Force exactly 90 seconds on each question.
- Correction
- Use flexible two-pass pacing within the 150-minute total.
- Trap
- Ignore small areas completely.
- Correction
- Land Use, Property Management, and Title together contribute 14 points.
- Trap
- Call every numerical fact a math question.
- Correction
- Identify whether the number requires calculation or simply describes a legal fact.
- Trap
- Retake the same simulation until passing.
- Correction
- Use new representative questions to measure transfer.
- Trap
- Treat a practice score as a pass guarantee.
- Correction
- Use it as limited evidence alongside coverage, timing, confidence, and trend.
How should you reason through a difficult item?
Audit the 100-question mix
Scenario: A practice test has 30 contract questions, 20 agency questions, and no property-management or land-use questions. Can its total fairly estimate the national blueprint?
- Contracts should contribute 19 and Agency 13 in a 100-question blueprint-equivalent set.
- Land Use contributes 5 and Property Management 3, so omitting them leaves eight intended points unsampled.
- The set overweights two areas and can distort the total in either direction.
Answer: No. Rebalance the set to all 11 current area counts.
Calculate a weighted-area total
Scenario: How many current national questions come from Contracts, Agency, and Practice of Real Estate together?
- Contracts contributes 19.
- Agency contributes 13 and Practice of Real Estate contributes 12.
- 19 + 13 + 12 = 44.
Answer: The three areas account for 44 of 100 scored national questions.
Interpret a 76% score
Scenario: A candidate scores 76 of 100 on one fresh timed set but guesses on 18 correct answers. Is the candidate securely ready?
- The raw score is above the 70% official standard.
- Eighteen unsupported guesses make the result unstable and poorly calibrated.
- Explain those rules, repair gaps, and repeat at or above the practice target on fresh questions.
Answer: Not yet. The score is encouraging, but the guessed-correct group needs proof.
Prioritize by weight and weakness
Scenario: A diagnostic shows 55% Contracts, 92% Property Management, and 75% overall. Which area should receive more new study time?
- Contracts is the largest area at 19 questions and shows a severe gap.
- Property Management is the smallest at 3 and already strong.
- Maintain the strong area briefly and focus substantial work on Contracts.
Answer: Prioritize Contracts while maintaining Property Management with spaced review.
Separate pace from knowledge
Scenario: A candidate leaves 12 questions unanswered under 150 minutes, then answers 10 correctly without notes after time. What is the leading issue?
- Untimed accuracy suggests much of the knowledge was available.
- The official event still requires answers within the limit.
- Review fixation, first-pass decisions, flagging, and checkpoint pace before relearning all 12 areas.
Answer: Treat pacing as the leading problem and confirm with another timed drill.
Classify an embedded math task
Scenario: A financing scenario gives loan amount and value and asks for LTV. Should a candidate ignore it when reviewing national math?
- The context is financing, but the task uses loan divided by value.
- The PSI outline expressly names LTV under Real Estate Math as well.
- Review both the financing definition and the calculation setup rather than forcing one label.
Answer: No. Treat it as an embedded financing-and-math skill.
How should you practice the national real estate exam portion?
- Map every question to the current 11-area PSI outline and use the published counts when building a representative set.
- Learn each area with retrieval, comparisons, scenarios, and calculations before measuring speed.
- Mix areas without topic labels so doctrine and formula selection become part of the task.
- Take full 100-question practice under the current 150-minute limit, planned tools, and realistic interruption rules.
- Score the total and all 11 areas, reporting correct counts, attempts, confidence, omitted items, and time pressure.
- Audit misses and uncertain correct answers by rule, fact, distractor, error cause, and current primary source.
- Repair high-weight repeated and foundational weaknesses, then prove them with delayed fresh mixed questions.
- Retest until at least 80% is repeatable under time with stable area performance and explained guesses.
- Area
- Property Ownership
- Scored questions
- 10
- Share
- 10%
- Area
- Land Use Controls
- Scored questions
- 5
- Share
- 5%
- Area
- Valuation
- Scored questions
- 8
- Share
- 8%
- Area
- Financing
- Scored questions
- 10
- Share
- 10%
- Area
- Contracts
- Scored questions
- 19
- Share
- 19%
- Area
- Agency
- Scored questions
- 13
- Share
- 13%
- Area
- Property Disclosures
- Scored questions
- 7
- Share
- 7%
- Area
- Property Management
- Scored questions
- 3
- Share
- 3%
- Area
- Transfer of Title
- Scored questions
- 6
- Share
- 6%
- Area
- Practice of Real Estate
- Scored questions
- 12
- Share
- 12%
- Area
- Real Estate Math
- Scored questions
- 7
- Share
- 7%
Which outline areas does this set sample?
- Topic
- National format
- What to know
- 100 scored questions, 150 minutes, 70 percent raw standard, experimental items, separate portion, result, pacing, and current booklet
- Best exam move
- Practice the national portion as its own timed and scored examination.
- Topic
- Property Ownership
- What to know
- 10 questions, real and personal property, fixtures, estates, co-ownership, encumbrances, easements, legal descriptions, measurement, and water rights
- Best exam move
- Classify the interest, right, burden, or item before applying transfer and use consequences.
- Topic
- Land Use Controls
- What to know
- 5 questions, police power, zoning, building code, subdivision, environmental control, private restriction, variance, special use, nonconforming use, and eminent domain
- Best exam move
- Identify public or private control and the specific relief or government power involved.
- Topic
- Valuation
- What to know
- 8 questions, value principles, highest and best use, appraisal, CMA, BPO, sales comparison, cost, income, depreciation, and market analysis
- Best exam move
- Match the assignment and property facts to the correct approach, principle, adjustment, or limitation.
- Topic
- Financing
- What to know
- 10 questions, note, mortgage, deed of trust, lien theory, loan types, conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, underwriting, secondary market, and federal lending law
- Best exam move
- Separate the debt promise, security instrument, loan program, qualification rule, and disclosure requirement.
- Topic
- Contracts
- What to know
- 19 questions, formation, validity, enforceability, offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, legality, performance, breach, remedies, assignment, novation, options, and leases
- Best exam move
- Build the timeline and identify contract status before choosing a party's right or remedy.
- Topic
- Agency
- What to know
- 13 questions, creation, client, customer, fiduciary duties, authority, disclosure, designated agency, dual agency, compensation, vicarious liability, termination, and conflicts
- Best exam move
- Name the represented party, scope of authority, duty, and disclosure or consent trigger.
- Topic
- Property Disclosures
- What to know
- 7 questions, material fact, property condition, environmental issue, lead, flood, inspection, survey, land use, defect, and government disclosure
- Best exam move
- Identify the known fact, responsible actor, required disclosure, timing, and limits of licensee expertise.
- Topic
- Property Management
- What to know
- 3 questions, tenant procurement and qualification, fair housing, ADA, rent or lease-rate market analysis, and landlord-tenant rights and obligations
- Best exam move
- Apply neutral screening and housing rules while excluding topics the current outline marks instructor only.
- Topic
- Transfer of Title
- What to know
- 6 questions, deed, delivery, acceptance, recording, title search, title insurance, warranties, foreclosure, short sale, probate, and closing
- Best exam move
- Separate deed validity, effective transfer, notice, title quality, and involuntary transfer processes.
- Topic
- Practice of Real Estate
- What to know
- 12 questions, fair housing, ADA, antitrust, employment status, due diligence, brokerage operations, handling funds, Do Not Call, technology, social media, and risk
- Best exam move
- Identify the regulated conduct, protected person, market restraint, communication rule, or practice boundary.
- Topic
- Real Estate Math
- What to know
- 7 questions, basic math, tax, proration, commission, closing funds, transfer fees, PITI, equity, LTV, points, area, appreciation, GRM, NOI, and cap rate
- Best exam move
- Write the target, formula, base, units, party, estimate, calculation, and reverse check.
- Topic
- Weighted practice construction
- What to know
- Question count, percentage, representative set, distribution, random order, difficulty, scenario, direct item, calculation, and coverage audit
- Best exam move
- Mirror the 10-5-8-10-19-13-7-3-6-12-7 blueprint in a full set.
- Topic
- Focused learning phase
- What to know
- One area, subtopic, source, retrieval, comparison, worked example, focused questions, explanation, error pattern, and no time pressure
- Best exam move
- Build accuracy and rule selection before adding full-exam pacing.
- Topic
- Mixed selection phase
- What to know
- Interleaving, no chapter label, similar doctrine, distractor, scenario, transition, formula selection, issue spotting, and transfer
- Best exam move
- Remove topic cues so identifying the area becomes part of every question.
- Topic
- Timing phase
- What to know
- 150 minutes, 90-second average, checkpoint, first pass, flag, calculation, long stem, review budget, unanswered, and pace
- Best exam move
- Use flexible two-pass pacing rather than forcing exactly 90 seconds on each item.
- Topic
- Error review
- What to know
- Miss, guessed correct, confidence, area, rule, trigger fact, distractor, cause, current source, fresh proof, and log
- Best exam move
- Turn each uncertain item into a precise repair rather than rereading the entire chapter.
- Topic
- Readiness trend
- What to know
- 80 percent target, repeated set, fresh questions, stable timing, area floor, guesses, condition match, margin, no guarantee, and final review
- Best exam move
- Use multiple representative attempts and recurring-error evidence, not a best score alone.
What should you sort out before you begin?
- Terms
- National vs. Illinois portion
- Difference
- The national portion tests broad real estate knowledge under an 11-area outline. The Illinois portion tests four state-specific areas.
- Question cue
- General doctrine versus Illinois law.
- Terms
- Weight vs. difficulty
- Difference
- Weight estimates how many items an area contributes. Difficulty describes how demanding those items feel to a candidate.
- Question cue
- Frequency versus challenge.
- Terms
- Area label vs. underlying task
- Difference
- An area organizes the blueprint. The actual task may combine doctrine, reading, and calculation across related facts.
- Question cue
- Classification bucket versus reasoning required.
- Terms
- Focused set vs. weighted set
- Difference
- A focused set builds one area. A weighted set estimates whole-portion performance in outline proportions.
- Question cue
- Repair versus benchmark.
- Terms
- Direct question vs. scenario
- Difference
- A direct item asks the rule plainly. A scenario hides it inside facts, actors, sequence, and plausible alternatives.
- Question cue
- Recall versus application.
- Terms
- Timed score vs. untimed knowledge
- Difference
- Timed performance includes pacing pressure. Untimed work better isolates whether the doctrine can be applied with enough time.
- Question cue
- Event performance versus content ceiling.
- Terms
- Correct answer vs. calibrated confidence
- Difference
- Correctness earns the practice point. Confidence plus explanation shows whether that point is likely repeatable.
- Question cue
- Outcome versus stability.
- Terms
- Raw standard vs. readiness target
- Difference
- Seventy percent is the current official raw minimum. Eighty percent is a practical preparation margin, not a second official rule.
- Question cue
- Requirement versus benchmark.
- Terms
- Retake vs. fresh simulation
- Difference
- A retake can reward memory of answers. A fresh simulation better tests selection and transfer.
- Question cue
- Familiar items versus new evidence.
- Terms
- Primary source vs. prep explanation
- Difference
- An official law, rule, form, or agency publication controls. A prep explanation organizes it for learning.
- Question cue
- Authority versus teaching aid.
How should you review your results?
- Session
- Session 1
- Focus
- Memorize the 11-area map
- Proof you are ready
- Reproduce every area and its 10-5-8-10-19-13-7-3-6-12-7 question count without notes.
- Session
- Session 2
- Focus
- Build the five largest areas
- Proof you are ready
- Reach at least 90% in focused Contracts, Agency, Practice, Ownership, and Financing sets with explained answers.
- Session
- Session 3
- Focus
- Secure the remaining six areas
- Proof you are ready
- Complete focused Valuation, Disclosures, Math, Title, Land Use, and Property Management retrieval and scenario practice.
- Session
- Session 4
- Focus
- Remove topic labels
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 85% on mixed questions and name the controlling area, rule, and strongest distractor after each answer.
- Session
- Session 5
- Focus
- Take a full timed set
- Proof you are ready
- Complete 100 representative questions in 150 minutes with checkpoints, confidence marks, and a planned second pass.
- Session
- Session 6
- Focus
- Repair and retest
- Proof you are ready
- Verify every unstable rule, prove each repair on fresh questions, and repeat at least 80% on another timed blueprint-aligned set.
Do not count recognition as mastery. Close the notes and explain the rule, apply it to a new fact pattern, and identify why each distractor fails.
Continue the feedback loop in Pass Illinois
From concept to decision
Drill this topic, then review the explanation
Pass Illinois gives you original national and Illinois questions, topic-by-topic study, clear explanations, timed practice, flashcards, progress tracking, and Math Coach. Start free, find the weak distinction, and focus the next session there.
Questions students ask about National Portion Practice Test for Illinois
How many questions are on the national real estate exam in Illinois?
The current PSI Illinois broker booklet lists 100 scored national questions. PSI may also include unidentified experimental questions. The national portion is separate from the 40 scored Illinois questions and receives its own result.
What score do you need on the national portion?
The current raw passing standard is 70%, corresponding to 70 of 100 scored national questions. A practice target of at least 80% more than once on fresh timed sets provides a useful margin, but no practice score guarantees the official result.
What are the 11 national real estate exam areas?
They are Property Ownership, Land Use Controls, Valuation, Financing, Contracts, Agency, Property Disclosures, Property Management, Transfer of Title, Practice of Real Estate, and Real Estate Math. Those labels and weights come from the PSI outline effective June 24, 2026.
Which national area has the most questions?
Contracts is the largest at 19 questions. Agency follows at 13 and Practice of Real Estate at 12. Property Ownership and Financing each have 10. Together, those five areas account for 64 of 100 scored national questions.
How should I build a representative national practice exam?
Use the current weights: 10 Ownership, 5 Land Use, 8 Valuation, 10 Financing, 19 Contracts, 13 Agency, 7 Disclosures, 3 Property Management, 6 Transfer of Title, 12 Practice of Real Estate, and 7 Math. Mix topics so the formula or doctrine is not announced in advance.
Should I study only Contracts and Agency?
No. They deserve substantial time because together they carry 32 questions, but the remaining nine areas account for 68. A passing plan covers every area, then allocates extra time according to outline weight, diagnostic weakness, foundational value, and repeated errors.
How much time is allowed for the national portion?
The current PSI booklet allocates 150 minutes for the 100 scored-question national portion. That averages 90 seconds per scored question, but pacing should be flexible. Secure short questions, flag time-heavy work, and reserve a review budget rather than forcing equal time on every item.
How should I review national practice questions?
For every miss or low-confidence correct answer, name the area, tested distinction, triggering fact, controlling rule or formula, strongest distractor, and error cause. Verify unstable or current rules in primary sources, then answer fresh mixed questions after focused repair.
What national practice score shows readiness?
A practical benchmark is at least 80% on two or more fresh, timed, representative sets, with no major area repeatedly below its needed level and no large group of unexplained guesses. Track both total and area performance because a strong Contracts score can hide a financing or math gap.
Are these official national real estate exam questions?
No. They are original practice examples aligned to the PSI broker national outline effective June 24, 2026. The current booklet and primary federal sources were checked through August 1, 2026.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act overview
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, current Regulation Z
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, lead-based paint real estate disclosures
- Federal Trade Commission, current Telemarketing Sales Rule compliance guidance
- U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, antitrust laws overview
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, current flood-map information
The current official outline controls the tested scope. Statutes, regulations, and official agency materials control when a general study rule and a jurisdiction-specific rule differ.
Editorial status
Checked against primary sources
The Pass Illinois editorial team last checked this guide on August 1, 2026. Every practice question is an original study item, and the source links above let you verify the rules that support the lesson.