Real Estate Institute

What Real Estate Institute does

Real Estate Institute is a privately held professional licensing education provider founded in 1992 and operationally headquartered in Niles, Illinois, with a registered address in Houston, Texas. The company delivers pre-licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education (CE) programs across three professional verticals: real estate (Illinois, Florida, and North Carolina), mortgage loan origination (NMLS-approved, national reach), and Illinois insurance producers (Life & Health, Property & Casualty). Over its 30-year history, the company states it has trained 195,000+ professionals through self-paced online courses, live instructor-led webinars, and in-person classroom instruction delivered from multiple Chicago-area locations including Niles, Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Aurora, Naperville, Schaumburg, and others.

The company's core technology is an online learning management system with interactive knowledge checks, progress tracking, and flexible scheduling; following the August 2024 acquisition by Austin-based online learning company Aceable, real estate courses have been migrated onto AceableAgent and insurance courses onto Aceable Insurance, adding mobile-first delivery and modern UX. The company maintains direct regulatory approvals as an IDFPR Education Provider (#515.000001) and Illinois Department of Insurance Provider (#102877), and is a designated Code of Ethics Partner Provider with the Chicago Association of REALTORS. Distribution combines a self-serve consumer website, a multi-location physical classroom network, and a B2B corporate partnership channel with group rates and compliance reporting.

Real Estate Institute generates revenue primarily through one-time course enrollment fees ranging from $95 (online broker 12-hour CE) to $598 (4-in-1 insurance license bundle), with corporate partnership programs adding a subscription-style B2B revenue stream via bulk licensing education, compliance reporting, and group discounts. Affirm is integrated at checkout to offer 0-36% APR installment financing. Since the Aceable acquisition, the company operates as "Real Estate Institute by Aceable" while continuing to function as a dedicated Illinois-anchored brand within the Aceable family of educational properties; its insurance division merged with Bookmark Education in September 2024 to form Aceable Insurance.

Name

Real Estate Institute

Legal name

Real Estate Institute

Website

https://instituteonline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Real Estate Institute, founded in 1992 and operating as a subsidiary of Aceable since August 2024, is a professional licensing education provider delivering pre-licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education courses for real estate, mortgage, and Illinois insurance professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Licensing Education

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Licensure Exam Prep (Salesperson/Broker, Appraiser) (EDANAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real Estate, Appraisal & Mortgage (Agent/Broker CE, Appraiser CE) (EDAAALAI), Real Estate & Property Services (EDABALAW)

Keywords

• Real estate licensing education
• Professional licensing training
• Continuing education courses
• Mortgage licensing programs
• Insurance pre-licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Niles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Course Sales: One-time course enrollment fees for pre-licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education courses in real estate, mortgage, and insurance. Students pay upfront for course access with no refunds policy.
2. Corporate Partnership Programs: Bulk licensing education packages for businesses with group rates, compliance reporting, and dedicated partnership support. Revenue generated through volume-based corporate enrollments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Real Estate Institute provides state-approved pre-licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education courses for real estate, mortgage, and insurance professionals across Illinois, Florida, and North Carolina (with mortgage and insurance courses offered nationwide). Programs are delivered online via self-paced coursework and live webinars, with in-person classroom options in the Chicago metro area. Courses cover pre-license requirements, post-license requirements, continuing education for license renewal, and exam preparation.

Product overview

Real Estate Institute is a professional licensing education provider offering a multi-category portfolio of programs across three verticals: Real Estate (Illinois, Florida, North Carolina), Mortgage (national), and Insurance (Illinois). The core offering consists of pre-license programs for initial licensing, post-license education for first renewal requirements, continuing education for license maintenance, and professional development courses. The company was acquired by Aceable in August 2024 and now routes students to Aceable platforms for enrollment. Programs include Illinois Managing Broker Pre-License (45 hours), Illinois Broker Pre-License (75 hours), Illinois Residential Leasing Agent Pre-License (15 hours), Illinois Managing Broker CE (24 hours), Illinois Broker CE (12 hours), Illinois Leasing Agent CE (8 hours), Florida Sales Associate Post-License and CE, North Carolina Broker Prelicensing, Illinois Instructor Development, Illinois Insurance Pre-Licensing (Life & Health, Property & Casualty, 4-in-1), Illinois Insurance Producer CE (24 hours including ethics), NMLS Mortgage Pre-License and CE, SAFE Test Prep, and All States Exam Prep. Corporate partnership solutions are available for business training needs. Financing is available through Affirm integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Illinois Managing Broker Pre-License Education

Quantifiable outcome

• 195,000+ professionals trained
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• AceableflagshipOthers · 1 August 2024Real Estate Institute was acquired by Aceable in August 2024. This acquisition marks Aceable's entry into the Illinois real estate market and allows Real Estate Institute to enhance its offerings by leveraging Aceable's cutting-edge technology. Aceable is led by CEO Blake Garrett. Courses are now integrated into Aceable's platforms including AceableAgent for real estate and Aceable Insurance for insurance education.
• Chicago Association of REALTORScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Chicago Association of REALTORS has reviewed and approved Real Estate Institute's Ethical Practice course to satisfy the Code of Ethics training requirement. The 6-Hour Core course is also approved to meet NAR's Fair Housing Training requirement. This partnership provides credibility and regulatory recognition.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kaplan Real Estate Education: Kaplan Real Estate Education is a long-established direct competitor offering pre-licensing, exam prep, and CE nationwide; competes with REI in Illinois, Florida, and North Carolina with comparable self-paced and live webinar formats.
• Mbition Learn Real Estate: Mbition (formerly OnCourse Learning Real Estate) is a direct competitor providing state-approved pre-licensing and CE for real estate professionals with a national footprint and similar compliance-driven catalog structure.
• The CE Shop: The CE Shop is a direct competitor offering pre-licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education for real estate professionals across all 50 states, with overlapping product bundles and similar D2C online/self-paced delivery model. Now part of Colibri Group.
• Allied Real Estate Schools: Allied Real Estate Schools is a direct competitor offering pre-licensing and CE across multiple states with a primarily online, self-paced delivery model — overlapping closely with REI's Flex Program on product and pricing.
• Colibri Real Estate (formerly 360training): Colibri Real Estate is a direct competitor operating a national real estate licensing and CE platform acquired via 360training; competes head-to-head with REI in pre-license, exam prep, and CE across multiple states including FL and NC where REI also operates.
• Hondros Education: Hondros Education is a direct competitor operating real estate, mortgage, and insurance licensing schools across multiple Midwestern states with both classroom and online delivery — closely aligned to REI's IL-centered, multi-vertical model.
• National Real Estate Institute (NREI): NREI is a direct competitor specializing in commercial real estate licensing and appraisal education, with similar exam prep, pre-licensing, and CE offerings targeting working real estate professionals.

Others

• Bookmark Education: Bookmark Education merged with REI's Insurance Division in 2024 to form Aceable Insurance; relevant as a recently combined peer in the same insurance pre-licensing/CE space.
• Aceable (parent company brands): Aceable is the parent company that acquired REI in August 2024; operates the AceableAgent and Aceable Insurance platforms that REI courses are now distributed through. Relevant as an ecosystem participant and integrating parent rather than a direct external competitor.

Regional players

• Gold Coast Schools: Gold Coast Schools is a regional competitor focused on Florida real estate licensing and CE; competes directly with REI in the Florida segment of REI's footprint with comparable course catalog and delivery formats.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RealEstateInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/real-estate-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/instituteonline

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Real Estate Institute