10 Most Affordable Bachelor’s in Real Estate

When you’re search­ing for the cheap­est real estate degree, you want to get a high-qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion with­out break­ing the bank. Thank­ful­ly, there are many options that can help you get the cheap­est real estate degree pos­si­ble while still attain­ing an edu­ca­tion that helps you suc­ceed in your pro­fes­sion­al career. 

Get­ting start­ed with a com­mu­ni­ty col­lege instead of a four-year school can be a smart way to knock out some of your gen­er­al edu­ca­tion cred­its. After you com­plete two years at a com­mu­ni­ty col­lege, think about choos­ing a low­er-cost pub­lic col­lege to help you com­plete your edu­ca­tion at a cost that makes sense.

If you’re already employed, you may want to think about talk­ing to your com­pa­ny’s human resources depart­ment about whether they offer tuition reim­burse­ment. Many employ­ers pro­vide tuition reim­burse­ment to employ­ees who agree to con­tin­ue work­ing with the com­pa­ny for a cer­tain time peri­od. Be sure to talk with your human resources depart­ment about the require­ments for con­tin­u­ing to get your tuition cov­ered by your com­pa­ny. Some com­pa­nies require a cer­tain GPA in order to con­tin­ue receiv­ing tuition assistance.

Methodology: Ranking the Most Affordable Real Estate Degrees

In the Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter most afford­able rank­ings, cost is cen­tral — pro­grams are ranked accord­ing to cur­rent tuition rate, using IPEDS data. But cheap can also be good, because all of the fea­tured insti­tu­tions are all accred­it­ed, trust­ed col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties.

1. Brooklyn College (CUNY)

Brook­lyn Col­lege (CUNY) offers a BBA in Busi­ness Law and Real Estate that’s among the most afford­able real estate degrees. This pro­gram pre­pares learn­ers to work in the real estate indus­try. Cours­es include both tech­ni­cal and prac­ti­cal top­ics such as com­put­er sci­ence, mar­ket­ing, lead­er­ship and eco­nom­ics. There is a heavy empha­sis on busi­ness man­age­ment, so stu­dents can also go on to pur­sue their four-year degree in that field if they so choose.

Brook­lyn Col­lege has edu­cat­ed stu­dents for 90 years and the school includes a tremen­dous­ly diverse stu­dent body from more than 140 coun­tries. Stu­dents attend school in New York City and use the metrop­o­lis as a class­room. The Big Apple is also one of the largest real estate mar­kets in the world.

What We Like: The loca­tion in New York City makes it con­ve­nient for stu­dents who want to work while they go to school. Becom­ing famil­iar with the city and indus­try dur­ing school gives grad­u­ates a huge advantage.

Degree: BBA in Busi­ness Law and Real Estate

Brook­lyn Col­lege (CUNY)

2. Baruch College (CUNY)

The BBA in Real Estate at Baruch Col­lege (CUNY) also comes to mind as one of the most afford­able real estate degrees. Stu­dents who choose this degree inter­act with expe­ri­ence pro­fes­sors and receive real-world expe­ri­ence. The school also holds net­work­ing events which give stu­dents an oppor­tu­ni­ty to social­ize with real estate pro­fes­sion­als. Grad­u­ates go on to except com­mer­cial or cor­po­rate real estate posi­tions, start their own busi­ness or become prop­er­ty man­agers. This degree set stu­dents up for in mul­ti­tude of oppor­tu­ni­ties at finan­cial insti­tu­tions, banks and real estate agencies.

Baruch Col­lege, locat­ed in New York City, is close to Wall Street and hun­dreds of com­pa­nies. This gives stu­dents a dream list for intern­ship oppor­tu­ni­ties. Stu­dents have count­less net­work­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties while earn­ing their BBA.

What We Like: Ranked by U.S. news and World Report as one of the top schools in the country.

Degree: BBA in Real Estate

Baruch Col­lege

3. California State University, Fresno

The BSBA in Real Estate & Urban Land Eco­nom­ics at Fres­no State includes both pre-busi­ness and gen­er­al edu­ca­tion cours­es. As one of the most afford­able real estate degrees, it pre­pares stu­dents for careers in real estate sales or investment.

Cal State Fres­no is a well-regard­ed pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty with near­ly 19,000 under­grad­u­ate stu­dents. The school has a com­pet­i­tive admis­sion process and takes few­er than three out of five stu­dents who apply. Among its many avail­able majors, some of the most pop­u­lar include wide-rang­ing fields such as lib­er­al arts or busi­ness and criminology.

What We Like: Approx­i­mate­ly, 90% of stu­dents receive finan­cial aid, mak­ing this a nat­ur­al choice for some students.

Degree: BSBA in Real Estate & Urban Land Economics

Fres­no State

4. University of Texas at Dallas

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Dal­las’ BSBA in Real Estate gives stu­dents an oppor­tu­ni­ty to take advan­tage of its great loca­tion. Real estate looms large among promi­nent indus­tries in the Lone Star State. The pro­fes­sors still work in the indus­try and can pro­vide deep insight into course mate­ri­als. This degree focus­es on one of two pos­si­ble con­cen­tra­tions, a BA or BS. Afford­able real estate degrees give stu­dents a huge return on their investment.

The school offers 140 majors and serves as a busi­ness pow­er­house in the South. The pro­gram empha­sizes sci­ence and busi­ness to give stu­dents a well-round­ed edu­ca­tion­al expe­ri­ence. Inspir­ing instruc­tors and a beau­ti­ful cam­pus make the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Dal­las one of the best options on the list. Based on stu­dent reviews and accom­plish­ments, the pro­fes­sors receive an A minus rat­ing from niche.com.

What We Like: Near­ly all stu­dents (96%) receive some sort of finan­cial aid.

Degree: BSBA in Real Estate

Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Dallas

5. University of North Texas

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Texas has a BBA in Real Estate that’s among the most afford­able real estate degrees. Part of the school’s G. Brint Ryan Col­lege of Busi­ness, this pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents to work in real estate, prop­er­ty man­age­ment, real estate invest­ing and relat­ed fields. Grad­u­ates emerge ready to sit for the state real estate exam or to work in entry-lev­el jobs at cor­po­ra­tions or brokerages.

North Texas has 26,000 under­grad­u­ate stu­dents and this pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty is locat­ed in the Dal­las Fort Worth area. Near­ly three out of four stu­dents who apply gain accep­tance to this afford­able college.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Texas ranks sixth among the state’s top pub­lic colleges.

Degree: BBA in Real Estate

Uni­ver­si­ty of North Texas

6. Middle Tennessee State University

The BBA in Finance/Real Estate at Mid­dle Ten­nessee State Uni­ver­si­ty pro­vide stu­dents with a firm foun­da­tion in two com­pet­i­tive fields, finance and real estate. Afford­able real estate degrees offer stu­dents are huge bang for their buck, as there is ample oppor­tu­ni­ty to make back their tuition mon­ey and more in an inter­est­ing and lucra­tive field. Stu­dents get an oppor­tu­ni­ty to con­cen­trate in one of three fields, includ­ing insur­ance, real estate or finance. With a minor in busi­ness admin­is­tra­tion, this pow­er­ful degree gives stu­dents a huge com­pet­i­tive advan­tage when they begin the job appli­ca­tion process. Some stu­dents also go on to com­plete their four-year degrees.

MTSU enjoys a high rank­ing by the Prince­ton Review. With a beau­ti­ful cam­pus in Murfrees­boro, TN, the school cre­at­ed a vibrant edu­ca­tion­al expe­ri­ence for near­ly 16,000 under­grad­u­ate students.

What We Like: Near­ly all stu­dents (96%) receive some form of finan­cial aid at MTSU.

Degree: BBA in Finance/Real Estate

Mid­dle Ten­nessee State University

7. University of Alaska Anchorage

The BBA in Prop­er­ty Man­age­ment and Real Estate at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alas­ka Anchor­age teach­es stu­dents foun­da­tion­al knowl­edge about the real estate indus­try in Alas­ka. Afford­able real estate degrees are hot com­modi­ties in a place where much of the wealth lies in land. The Wei­d­ner Prop­er­ty Man­age­ment and Real Estate Pro­gram includes a vari­ety of class­es in busi­ness admin­is­tra­tion, real estate and gen­er­al edu­ca­tion require­ments. Stu­dents also gain an under­stand­ing of busi­ness admin­is­tra­tion, which is cru­cial for any­one con­sid­er­ing open­ing their own prop­er­ty man­age­ment busi­ness after grad­u­a­tion. Afford­able real estate degrees and a vari­ety of grants, schol­ar­ships and coop­er­a­tives, make an edu­ca­tion at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alas­ka extreme­ly attrac­tive to many students.

In total, the uni­ver­si­ty of Alas­ka has five cam­pus­es. The one locat­ed in Anchor­age sits in the state’s largest city. Stu­dents choose from more than 100 pro­grams and can par­tic­i­pate in numer­ous com­mu­ni­ty and sports activ­i­ties. They can enjoy both the cul­tur­al life of a larg­er city and the splen­did nat­ur­al beau­ty sur­round­ing the city.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Alas­ka Anchor­age has 11,000 stu­dents from more than 70 countries.

Degree: BBA in Prop­er­ty Man­age­ment and Real Estate

Uni­ver­si­ty of Alas­ka Anchorage

8. University of Texas at Arlington

Stu­dents can attain afford­able real estate degrees at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Arling­ton. By com­bin­ing real estate and finance into one pow­er­ful degree, this pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents for careers work­ing for bro­kers, open­ing their own busi­ness or Work­ing in a num­ber of relat­ed fields. Buy­ing and sell­ing real estate requires excel­lent mon­ey man­age­ment skills, which stu­dents learn in the finance por­tion of this pro­gram. The pro­gram expos­es stu­dents to secu­ri­ties, cor­po­rate finance and invest­ments to give them a well-round­ed education.

Earn­ing a BBA in Finance and Real Estate is just one option for stu­dents who attend UT Arling­ton. With a cam­pus strate­gi­cal­ly locat­ed in the Dal­las-Fort Worth Area, the school has just under 20,000 under­grad­u­ates. It takes 83% Of those who apply, and pop­u­lar majors include they were sent human­i­ties and nursing.

What We Like: UT Arling­ton ranks ninth among top pub­lic schools in the state.

Degree: BBA in Finance and Real Estate

Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Arlington

9. University of Texas at San Antonio

Afford­able real estate degrees at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at San Anto­nio pre­pare stu­dents for careers in real estate or busi­ness man­age­ment. There are more than 131,000 indi­vid­u­als work­ing in real estate in and around San Anto­nio. Grad­u­ates emerge ready to hold entry-lev­el posi­tions in the field or to begin their own real estate invest­ment projects. Stu­dents can enhance their resumes with com­pe­ten­cy options in entre­pre­neur­ship, risk man­age­ment and ana­lyt­ics, among oth­er choices.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at San Anto­nio engages in research, urban devel­op­ment and com­mu­ni­ty ser­vice. The school prides itself on pro­duc­ing lead­ers who can influ­ence the mod­ern econ­o­my. It has an accep­tance rate of 77%, which is mod­er­ate­ly com­pet­i­tive. How­ev­er, more than three in four appli­cants gain access to the university.

What We Like: Addi­tion­al­ly, 83% of stu­dents receive finan­cial aid, enhanc­ing the school’s rep­u­ta­tion for affordability.

Degree: BBA in Real Estate Finance and Development

Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at San Antonio

10. University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Afford­able real estate degrees from Uni­ver­si­ty of Arkansas at Lit­tle Rock cul­mi­nate in a BBA in Finance/Real Estate. This is a con­cen­tra­tion track offered under the aus­pices of the Eco­nom­ics and Finance Depart­ment. Some stu­dents go on to pur­sue their four-year degree and many may con­sid­er return­ing to school for an MBA or oth­er master’s degree in the future. Oth­ers grad­u­ate eager to work and make their mark on the real estate indus­try. This major has a strong focus on busi­ness and finance and giv­ing stu­dents flex­i­ble career options.

Arkansas Lit­tle Rock has near­ly 1,300 under­grad­u­ate stu­dents. The school has a com­pet­i­tive admis­sions rate of 66%. Those who do gain accep­tance can choose from dozens of majors includ­ing pop­u­lar ones such as lib­er­a­tion human­i­ties and crim­i­nal justice.

What We Like: With 95% of stu­dents receiv­ing finan­cial aid and load tuition rates, Arkansas Lit­tle Rock makes the edu­ca­tion­al expe­ri­ence high­ly affordable.

Degree: BBA in Finance/Real Estate

Uni­ver­si­ty of Arkansas at Lit­tle Rock

Will I Make More Money with a Certification?

Stud­ies show that earn­ing real estate cer­ti­fi­ca­tions online may boost your earn­ings. Real estate agents who have a bach­e­lor’s degree are more like­ly to earn over $100,000 per year than real estate agents who do not have a bach­e­lor’s degree.

Get­ting your real estate cer­ti­fi­ca­tions online can help you make the most of your degree. When you get your cer­ti­fi­ca­tion online, you’ll like­ly pay less than you would for an in-per­son cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, even though your online real estate cer­ti­fi­ca­tion offers the same infor­ma­tion as an in-per­son option. An online real estate cer­ti­fi­ca­tion can help both real estate offices and poten­tial buy­ers trust that you’re up to date in the lat­est in real estate.

When you decide that you’d like to get your real estate online cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, be sure to do your research to ensure that you’re get­ting your degree or online real estate cer­ti­fi­ca­tion from a rep­utable orga­ni­za­tion. You’ll invest many hours into get­ting your real estate online cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, so it’s impor­tant that it’s worth your time. It’s impor­tant to research respect­ed accred­i­ta­tions for your area and choose an accred­it­ed online cer­ti­fi­ca­tion program.

How Much Can I Make as a Real Estate Agent?

There are many fac­tors that can influ­ence real estate jobs salary, includ­ing years of expe­ri­ence, cost of liv­ing in the area, and trends in the real estate mar­ket. The type of homes that a real estate agent tends to work with can also affect salary, as a real estate agent in an area with a high aver­age home price is like­ly to earn a high­er salary than a real estate agent in an area with low­er aver­age home prices. Accord­ing to the Unit­ed States Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics, the aver­age income of a real estate agent in 2020 was about $51,000 per year.

Earn­ing an online cer­ti­fi­ca­tion can pos­i­tive­ly affect a real estate agent aver­age income, as real estate jobs salary can depend heav­i­ly on edu­ca­tion lev­el. The aver­age income of a real estate agent is high­ly based on sales, and an online cer­ti­fi­ca­tion can help keep you up to date on best prac­tices, boost­ing your per­son­al aver­age income real estate agent.

How Much Do Commercial Real Estate Brokers Make?

Accord­ing to Glass­Door, the aver­age salary for com­mer­cial real estate bro­ker is about $61,000 per year. The aver­age salary for com­mer­cial real estate agent can vary wide­ly depend­ing on many fac­tors, includ­ing expe­ri­ence, edu­ca­tion, and the cur­rent mar­ket. Like a fam­i­ly home real estate agent, com­mer­cial real estate jobs salary can be boost­ed by an online cer­ti­fi­ca­tion or degree. Earn­ing an online cer­ti­fi­ca­tion can pro­vide a jump in com­mer­cial real estate aver­age income both by build­ing trust with poten­tial buy­ers and edu­cat­ing real estate agents on indus­try best prac­tices. The aver­age salary for com­mer­cial real estate bro­ker can also depend on how long the bro­ker has been in an area, as bro­kers with a great rep­u­ta­tion may have an eas­i­er time get­ting new clients com­pared to a bro­ker who is new to the area.

Tran­si­tion­ing from an aver­age salary for com­mer­cial real estate agent to a new posi­tion can cre­ate a boost in com­mer­cial real estate jobs salary. Com­mer­cial real estate aver­age income for a real estate asset man­ag­er is near­ly $85,000 per year, and the com­mer­cial real estate aver­age income for a real estate ana­lyst is about $67,000 per year.

Relat­ed Rankings:

25 Best Bach­e­lor’s in Real Estate

15 Best Online Bach­e­lor’s in Real Estate

10 Fastest Online Bach­e­lor’s in Real Estate