RES Exam Study Plan: An 8-Week Schedule for Singapore
The best RES exam study plan is one that follows the CEA syllabus, puts practice ahead of passive reading, and ends with full timed papers. Most working candidates can build that in about eight weeks. I lay out that schedule below, week by week. If you are still choosing a course provider, start with our RES course and exam page, then come back to plan your weeks.
TL;DR
The RES exam has two papers, each 100 marks over 2.5 hours, and you must reach 60 in each. Plan for both, not just the one you find easier.
Eight weeks works for most people studying around a job: learn the map, drill by topic, then sit full timed papers.
Section B case studies carry 40 of the 100 marks per paper, so give them their own practice time from week 3.
A revised CEA syllabus applies from 1 January 2027, so check which version your sitting uses.
Log every wrong answer and its cause. That log tells you whether the plan is working.
Table of Contents
What does the RES exam cover, and how is it structured?
You sit two papers. According to CEA’s exam preparation page, each paper has Section A with 60 multiple-choice questions worth 60 marks, and Section B with 20 multiple-choice questions based on one or two case studies worth 40 marks. That makes 100 marks per paper, and the passing mark is 60 per paper, subject to CEA review.
The content splits into four Competency Units:
Paper 1: Competency Unit 1 (Real Estate Agency Industry Overview and Basic Land Law Concepts) and Competency Unit 2 (Dealings with Interests in Land).
Paper 2: Competency Unit 3 (Regulation of the Real Estate Agency Industry and Real Estate Marketing) and Competency Unit 4 (Property Transactions), which includes HDB flats, private properties, leasing, property taxes and property finance, per the CEA syllabus document.
The two papers are different in character. Paper 1 leans on definitions and legal concepts. Paper 2 leans on process and numbers, and it is where most application questions sit. Your plan should reflect that.
What do I need in place before I start studying?
The plan only works if the practical requirements are settled first. CEA states that you must complete the RES course with a CEA Approved Course Provider, with at least 75% attendance, before you can register for the exam. You also need at least four GCE O-Level passes or an equivalent qualification. Your course completion certificate is valid for two years, so the clock starts the day you finish the course.
Exams are held several times a year, with registration through GovEntry using Singpass. NTUC LearningHub’s RES exam page runs the registration stages, and the dates change every year. Check both CEA and LearningHub for the current schedule rather than relying on any date you read in an article. Work backwards from the sitting you want, and allow at least eight weeks before it.
If you are taking the course with RIA School, our RES course page explains the fees and the NTUC UTAP and SkillsFuture Credit discounts. Our team works with Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.
How many weeks and hours should a RES study plan take?
There is no official study-hours figure from CEA, so treat any number as a planning guide. From what I have seen leading new agents, eight weeks is a sensible default for someone with a full-time job. Aim for a steady block most weeks rather than a heavy last-minute push. Candidates who study a little every week keep more of it than those who cram.
Here is how the time scales in practice, using our own planning rule of thumb:
Your situation | Suggested length | Weekly rhythm |
Full-time job, evenings and weekends only | 8 to 10 weeks | Short weekday sessions, one longer weekend block |
Part-time work or flexible schedule | 6 to 8 weeks | Daily sessions of 1.5 to 2 hours |
Fresh graduate or between jobs | 4 to 6 weeks | Near full-day study, with rest days |
Retaking one paper | 3 to 4 weeks | Focus on the failed paper’s units |
Whatever you choose, keep the order the same: learn the content, recall it from memory, then apply it under time pressure. If you have fewer weeks, shorten each phase rather than skipping one. Our guide to the 8 to 10 week RES exam plan goes further on pacing.
How do I build an 8-week RES exam study plan?
This is the schedule I give candidates who ask. It groups the syllabus into practical themes, so each week has one clear job and one measurable output.
Week | Focus | Output at the end of the week |
1 | Land law concepts, estate and interests in land (CU1, CU2) | A one-page summary of tenure, estates and ownership types, written from memory |
2 | Contract, agency and dealings in land (CU1, CU2) | 30 to 40 topic questions with every wrong answer logged |
3 | Regulation, ethics, CEA rules, marketing and anti-money-laundering duties (CU3) | A list of the “must not” rules and your first Section B case study |
4 | HDB resale and related processes (CU4) | A flowchart of the HDB sale process, from option to completion |
5 | Private property transactions and leasing (CU4) | A flowchart of the private sale process and tenancy basics |
6 | Property taxes, CPF and finance (CU4) | A one-page sheet of the key rates and ratios, with worked calculations |
7 | Mixed-topic practice, with Section B every session | Two sets of timed mixed questions, one per paper |
8 | Full timed papers and weak-area repair | One full Paper 1 and one full Paper 2 sitting in exam conditions |
Some notes on why it is laid out this way.
Finance and tax come mid-plan, not at the end. The topics in CU4 are stacked together in case studies, where one misread figure changes the answer. Leaving them for the last week is the most common scheduling mistake I see.
Time is split roughly evenly between papers. Within Paper 1, give CU2 more time than CU1. Within Paper 2, split time roughly evenly between CU3 and CU4, but give CU4’s calculations their own sessions.
Rates and rules change. Property cooling measures and stamp duty rules are updated from time to time, so use the current figures from official pages such as IRAS for property taxes when you build your cheat sheet, and confirm the syllabus version for your sitting.
What changes with the 2027 syllabus?
CEA has revised the RES examination syllabus, effective from 1 January 2027. If your exam falls on or after that date, study from the revised syllabus PDF, not an older set of notes. Ask your course provider which version your materials follow, and check every study aid you use against the CEA document. Our syllabus mapped to an 8 to 10 week plan shows how to line the topics up.
How should I practise multiple-choice and case-study questions?
Practice, not reading, should fill most of your hours. A split of roughly 30% reading and 70% practice is a good target. A simple routine for each topic:
Read the topic once, with your course notes beside you.
Close the notes and test yourself on that topic.
For every wrong answer, work out why the right answer is right, then write down the cause.
Retry the topic two or three days later.
Section A: speed and accuracy
Section A is 60 questions. Across a whole paper you have 150 minutes for 80 questions, which is under two minutes each, and case studies take longer to read. So build speed gradually. Early on, do untimed topic sets so you can think about the reasoning. From week 7, time yourself.
Learn the numbers cold: stamp duty bands, additional buyer’s stamp duty rates by buyer profile, seller’s stamp duty holding periods, HDB option fee and option period, and the debt-servicing limits that apply to loans. These recur constantly. Learn the “must not” rules in the CEA code too, because they are marks you can bank if you know them.
Section B: case studies
Section B is 40% of each paper on only 20 questions, so a candidate who ignores it is giving away a lot of marks. Read the case once, note the facts (who the parties are, which property type, what has been agreed, what the dates are), then answer all the linked questions together. The skill is applying a rule to a scenario, not repeating a definition. Start from week 3 and do at least one case study in every session after that.
Our RES exam questions guide covers question types in more detail, and the study materials guide explains what to use alongside your course notes.
How do I use mock exams and final revision well?
In the last two weeks, sit full papers in real conditions: 2.5 hours, no phone, no notes. Do one paper per sitting so you get a feel for the stamina needed. The exam is paper-based, so print your mocks if you can and practise writing on the paper.
A sensible pacing target for a full paper:
Part | Questions | Suggested time |
Section A | 60 | Up to 90 minutes |
Section B | 20 | About 40 minutes |
Review | Unsure questions | About 20 minutes |
After each mock, sort every wrong answer into one of four causes: knowledge gap, confusion between two rules, misreading the question, or an arithmetic slip. Each needs a different fix. A knowledge gap means going back to the notes. A misread means slowing down on the question stem. An arithmetic slip means more calculation drills. Revising the causes, not just the questions, is what moves your score.
In the final week, avoid new material. Rework your one-page summaries, flowcharts and rate sheet, and fix only the weak spots your log has flagged.
How can I tell if my study plan is working?
Check three things at the end of every week:
Score trend: Are your topic scores rising? Aim to be comfortably above 60% on mixed sets before you book or sit the exam.
Error pattern: Are the same causes recurring? If most errors are misreads, you need slower reading, not more content.
Reading-to-practice ratio: If you are spending most of your hours rereading notes, shift to testing yourself.
If you fall behind, do not squeeze every topic. Protect the heavy-mark areas: Section B practice, CU4 calculations and the CEA rules. Cut the extra reading first. If you still cannot get ready in time, remember that CEA’s rules let you retake only the failed paper in a modular sitting, as long as your certificate of course completion is still valid. If it has expired, you must retake the full course and both papers, as set out on CEA’s results and appeals page. That is a good reason to schedule your exam well within the two-year validity.
What I tell candidates about RES preparation
I lead a team at ERA Singapore, and the pattern we see is simple: the candidates who do best treat the RES exam as the first project of their new career, not as a hurdle to rush through. At Donny Lee Advisory, part of ERA’s Preeminent Group, we support new agents from RES course registration through onboarding, and we run digital training through Zoom webinars so that people who work full time can keep learning. Our approach is to build habits early: a weekly rhythm, a log of mistakes and regular practice with real scenarios, because those same habits carry into client work. If you are planning your study weeks, pick your sitting first, work back from it, and be honest about the hours you can protect. A realistic plan you keep beats an ambitious plan you drop. Donny Lee
Where can I get structured support for the RES journey?
If you are planning to start a property agent career, our team can help you from course registration to your first months in the field. We guide candidates through the RES course, CEA registration requirements and onboarding, with mentoring and training from a team that has led new agents before. You can see how the process works on our new agents page, including RES course registration and career opportunities with ERA.
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If you want to understand the whole path first, read our guide on how to become a property agent in Singapore and the CEA registration process. From 2027, registration lasts 3 years, and agents need 3 deals in each 3-year period or must pass a Refresher Exam, so it helps to know the road beyond the exam.
FAQ
Is eight weeks enough to prepare for the RES exam?
For most candidates studying around a full-time job, yes, if the weeks are used consistently and most of the time goes to practice. If you can only give a few hours a week, stretch the plan to ten or twelve weeks rather than compressing the content. The order of learn, recall, then timed practice should stay the same.
Do I have to pass both papers in the same sitting?
You must pass both papers, and each is marked separately against a pass mark of 60. If you pass one, CEA allows you to retake only the other in a modular sitting, provided your course completion certificate is still valid. If the certificate has expired, you must retake the course and both papers.
Should I study Paper 1 or Paper 2 first?
Start with Paper 1, because the land law, contract and agency concepts in CU1 and CU2 underpin the transactions in Paper 2. Give Paper 2 slightly more practice time, since its calculations and case studies need repetition. Keep both papers in rotation during the last two weeks.
How important are the case studies in Section B?
Very. They make up 40 of the 100 marks in each paper, and they test whether you can apply a rule to a scenario. Practise reading a case once, noting the key facts, and answering all its linked questions together.
When do the exam dates and registration open?
The RES exam is held several times a year, and registration runs in stages through GovEntry with Singpass. Dates change every year, so check CEA and NTUC LearningHub for the current schedule before you set your plan.
If you are considering a career as a property agent and want to talk through your RES plan, speak with Donny about joining ERA. Fill in the form on our Join ERA Singapore page and we will take it from there. You can also review the RES course and exam details before you decide.
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This article provides general information for people exploring a real estate career in Singapore and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules, fees and requirements may change; always check the latest guidance from CEA, IRAS and other official sources. For personal career advice, speak with Donny Lee at ERA Singapore.
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