In the real estate industry, is there such a thing as being over educated? We don’t think so.

In fact, we might argue that, given the huge growth in new disclosure guidelines, borrower qualification rules, complex transaction types and intricate financing deals in recent years, local real estate agents could use more education.

And we think they’d probably agree. In fact, we know they would.

But it appears not everyone is sold on the merits of continuing education – even at the relatively modest levels currently required to renew a Massachusetts real estate license.

A recent study from the Beacon Hill Institute, a Suffolk University-sponsored think tank, concluded that the current 12 hours of continuing education credits needed to keep a real estate license in Massachusetts had less to do with enhancing overall quality in the industry, and more to do with enriching full-time agents at the expense of part-timers.

According to the report, before the continuing ed requirement, a licensee could maintain the license indefinitely by paying an annual renewal fee. But adding the professional education requirement raised the expense of maintaining a license, shoving part-time agents who might have done an odd sale here or there out of the profession – and driving their would-be clients to full-time agents.

Following the adoption of the requirement in 1999, the number of licensees in the state dropped by more than half, according to the authors’ research. But the decline in agents did not translate into a decline in the number of complaints, the authors asserted, which led them to believe that overall quality didn’t improve – contrary to the arguments made at the time by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and others who said the requirements were in the public’s interest.

Not surprisingly, our story on the study generated a storm of responses – mostly from local Realtors aghast at the assertion that requiring 12 hours of education every two years was somehow onerous or driven by greed.

And we couldn’t agree with them more.

Keeping up with emerging trends and new developments is critical to success in any field – both for professionals looking to maintain an edge, and for the clients they strive to serve. This is doubly true in real estate.

Imagine a Realtor who obtained his or her license in 2008, pre-crisis. Upon renewal of their license in 2010, wouldn’t you hope they would have found 12 hours to have brushed up on the nuances of mortgage financing, foreclosures, REO sales or short sales? We would. And imagine how the market will have changed two years from now?

There is an argument to be made that market forces should determine winners and losers, not regulations. But instead of being driven out of the industry by the burden of regulation (in the form of continuing ed), doesn’t it seem likely many part-time agents were instead actually driven out by their own lack of success because of their lack of knowledge? The customer chooses, and will generally choose smart over dumb.

There is a place in the industry, of course, for part-time or semi-retired agents looking to either supplement their incomes by keeping their hat in the ring or to serve a small, specialized niche when called upon. There always has been.

But just because an agent is part-time, does not and should not excuse them from their obligations to their peers, themselves and their clients to be as educated as they need to be to serve their communities in the best possible way. If they can’t stay up to date, then they shouldn’t be allowed to practice real estate. It’s that simple.

And if that enriches those who do decide that investing in their own education is worthwhile, to themselves and their clients, then so be it. Education breeds competition, and competition is good for all of us.