How To Avoid Steering

Steering is defined as the act of “trying to influence a person toward or away from a particular property or neighborhood based on one of the protected characteristics — such as race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family makeup, and disability,” according to Inman.com. This illegal practice could cause you to lose your license, so take note of these three suggestions from The National Association of Realtors?.

• Show listings to your clients that meet their objective criteria rather than your opinions.
• Provide third-party resources to clients so they can do their own research on particular neighborhoods with regard to schools and safety rather than sharing your views.
• Scrutinize your own unconscious biases. If you’ve mentally eliminated certain areas from your clients’ prospective listings, ask yourself why. Make sure you are only using objective information, such as price points or property size specifications, in order to avoid steering.