Realtor.com goes woke, eliminates crime data overlay from their maps.

[Sigblaster]

I'm sure y'all are sick of hearing about my house hunting woes, but I'm rolling ahead anyway.

For those who don't know, Realtor.com has a handy mapping tool you can use to evaluate the area for the house you're looking at. This map has tools that you can click on to display overlays for certain things, like flood zones, noise levels, and until recently, crime data. When I noticed this overlay was missing, I poked around to see why, and found this:

https://www.realtor.com/homemade/an-invitation-to-the-industry-address-fair-housing-together/

For example, earlier this month, we removed the crime map layer from all search results on Realtor.com to rethink the safety information we share on Realtor.com and how we can best integrate it as part of a consumer’s home search experience.

In the weeks and months ahead, we plan to examine closely what neighborhood safety means for buyers and renters who use our site so we can reimagine how we integrate safety data on Realtor.com. Our goal is to ensure we are providing consumers with the most valuable, fair and accurate neighborhood data so they can make informed decisions about where they want to rent or purchase their next home.

Apparently, crime statistic facts are "unfair" now.

More research reveals several news articles about this, and Redfin is doing the same thing.

Also, we have always been at war with Eurasia, and our chocolate ration has been increased from 30 to 25 grams per week.

 

[stocknup]

I have no doubt a lot of homes have gone unsold ( or sit for a while first ) for being in a questionable neighborhood . Hard to believe that crime isn`t a deciding factor of where one would choose to raise their family , so lets hide it and hope no one notices SMH ..........Must be getting in the way of someones` commission ..................
or perhaps they have to make room for " percentage of people in the neighborhood that are vaxed " statistics .

 

[dieselrealtor]

I stopped sending ANY money to them years ago. The associations related are extensions of left wing propaganda & the agenda.

I also stopped syndicating my listings to them for various reasons, one of which I would not get the leads that came in. The leads would go to a "subscribed" agent 50 miles away many times.

What I have said for years is that if NAR is saying something, it is possible that the opposite is true.

I used to use citydata for what was unbiased facts. Haven't used it for some time, not sure if it is still the same.

 

[Sigblaster]

I stopped sending ANY money to them years ago. The associations related are extensions of left wing propaganda & the agenda.

I also stopped syndicating my listings to them for various reasons, one of which I would not get the leads that came in. The leads would go to a "subscribed" agent 50 miles away many times.

What I have said for years is that if NAR is saying something, it is possible that the opposite is true.

I used to use citydata for what was unbiased facts. Haven't used it for some time, not sure if it is still the same.

I use citydata also. It seems to be accurate.

 

[jake blue]

Watch, they'll strip out the neighborhood demographics and education information next because it's biased. I saw an article about a couple who claim their house was undervalued by $100k because they are black and when they had a white friend pose as the homeowner for another appraiser they got a higher appraisal. So no doubt that'll fuel claims of racist bias in revealing demographic information. Same could be extrapolated from school rankings so let's be sure to hide that info too.

 

[Sigblaster]

Watch, they'll strip out the neighborhood demographics and education information next because it's biased. I saw an article about a couple who claim their house was undervalued by $100k because they are black and when they had a white friend pose as the homeowner for another appraiser they got a higher appraisal. So no doubt that'll fuel claims of racist bias in revealing demographic information. Same could be extrapolated from school rankings so let's be sure to hide that info too.

Doesn't surprise me, given my most recent experience with an appraiser especially.

 

[Ingomike]

I stopped sending ANY money to them years ago. The associations related are extensions of left wing propaganda & the agenda.

I also stopped syndicating my listings to them for various reasons, one of which I would not get the leads that came in. The leads would go to a "subscribed" agent 50 miles away many times.

What I have said for years is that if NAR is saying something, it is possible that the opposite is true.

I used to use citydata for what was unbiased facts. Haven't used it for some time, not sure if it is still the same.

Don't think not being a Realtor eliminates this. This comes straight from HUD and the other usual suspects and applies to all real estate agents.

 

[Ingomike]

I'm sure y'all are sick of hearing about my house hunting woes, but I'm rolling ahead anyway.

For those who don't know, Realtor.com has a handy mapping tool you can use to evaluate the area for the house you're looking at. This map has tools that you can click on to display overlays for certain things, like flood zones, noise levels, and until recently, crime data. When I noticed this overlay was missing, I poked around to see why, and found this:

https://www.realtor.com/homemade/an-invitation-to-the-industry-address-fair-housing-together/



Apparently, crime statistic facts are "unfair" now.

More research reveals several news articles about this, and Redfin is doing the same thing.

Also, we have always been at war with Eurasia, and our chocolate ration has been increased from 30 to 25 grams per week.

Any real estate entity that is connected to licensed agents is now being told by HUD they cannot do this.

I did see a commercial from channel 59 that said they had one, but it is probably in their app.

On a similar topic there was a popular mapping app that would guide you through the safest neighborhoods to get to your destination. It was shut down by your government…

 

[dieselrealtor]

Realtor.com went public years ago with blessings from NAR, I believe the parent company was homestore. There were "questionable ethics" from the start, (to the best of my memory) when it went public realtors were able to purchase stock prior to the ipo with a restriction that it had to be held for a minimum period of time (1 month or 1 year, I don't remember). If I remember correctly the PRESIDENT of NAR purchased stock then sold very shortly after or during the ipo ignoring the rules & to my understanding without consequences.

Now it is not much different from other advertising platforms such as Zillow (before they were a broker).

It has been considered a fair housing violation for many years for agents/brokers to disseminate any information about crime statistics, demographics, etc. even if asked direct questions. Instead we reference sources for prospects to go such as citydata. In the "new normal", this will likely become a violation as well. Considered some sort of steering.

I am glad that I am closer to the end of my career than the beginning. The "local" board has been following every leftist whim for years while ignoring the will of the majority of the broker members. I can recall one thing that we voted down twice, then they did it anyway & basically stated that they didn't need our input.

 

[Twangbanger]

The first casualty is always the truth.

 

[Sigblaster]

I understand that there has been racism involved in real estate for a long time. I've seen it myself, as a kid, in the early '70s, and this was just a short-term house sitting situation. My stepdad, damn his eyes (for other reasons), took us on a month long vacation one time, and some friends of his had just sold their house and needed a place to stay for a few weeks until they could take posession of their new house. Perfect timing. His family would house sit while we went on vacation. Once word got around that the house sitters were a black family, the neighborhood adults were in an uproar. The kids didn't care, we went to an integrated school anyways, and the house sitter kids played football, baseball, hide-and-seek with the neighborhood kids just the same. Oh, but the adults were mad as soon as they heard about it.

This was not some far outside the city suburb, this was IN the city where I grew up, a liberal city in a liberal state. But it was a very whitebread neighborhood. And they saw a house sitting situation as "those people" getting a foothold in the neighborhood. That was some OVERT racism.

But the subtle racism in removing the crime map is undeniable. Lets talk real talk here. We all know there has been a huge cultural shift in this country over several decades, and the high-crime areas are in primarily black inhabited areas. I don't care about demographics at all, but I do care about the potential for crime. For these websites to claim that revealing crime data "unfairly" discriminates against certain groups is disingenuous as well as incredibly racist. They are basically saying that they acknowledge primarily black inhabited neighborhoods are crime-ridden, so we don't want to show you that.

 

[Sigblaster]

The first casualty is always the truth.

And it's always the beginning of the end.

Gird your loins, men. It's mostly political and philosophical now, and probably will be for quite a while. When it goes kinetic... well, I hope I'm not too old to participate, and live long enough to see how we come out of the other side.

 

[dudley0]

I wasn't aware that realtors couldn't tell you about the crime ridden areas. That's crazy. I use a realtor because he sells houses and knows the market. Now I have to do even more to figure out what's a good investment. Been using the same guy for I think 22 years now. Right, wrong or indifferent I am sure he will find a way to let me know what he knows.

I worry more about when my guy, and his spouse, actually retire. Seems that most of the up and comers are just pushing places instead of actually looking at what the customer wants or needs.

Never heard of citydata. will look into that now. Thanks for the info!

 

[Ingomike]

I wasn't aware that realtors couldn't tell you about the crime ridden areas. That's crazy. I use a realtor because he sells houses and knows the market. Now I have to do even more to figure out what's a good investment. Been using the same guy for I think 22 years now. Right, wrong or indifferent I am sure he will find a way to let me know what he knows.

I worry more about when my guy, and his spouse, actually retire. Seems that most of the up and comers are just pushing places instead of actually looking at what the customer wants or needs.

Never heard of citydata. will look into that now. Thanks for the info!

You agent should be advising you on market data, values, growth potential in values, crime stats will be baked into the cake without ever having the need to explicitly discuss crime…

 

[Shadow01]

This issue is minimized in rural America.

 

[tbhausen]

Plenty of self-help tools here when it comes to researching crime without needing the help of a realtor:

Is Your Neighborhood Safe? 7 Tools to Help You Find Out | SafeWise

Looking to cruise crime statistics before relocating or find safety initiatives nearby? Most of these neighborhood safety tools are free.

www.safewise.com

 

[BehindBlueI's]

For these websites to claim that revealing crime data "unfairly" discriminates against certain groups is disingenuous as well as incredibly racist.

I'm just guessing, but I wonder if the certain group is "realtors" and the concern is that crime ridden properties are harder to sell. Harder to sell means longer waits for smaller commissions and more work to get it.

 

[Ingomike]

I'm just guessing, but I wonder if the certain group is "realtors" and the concern is that crime ridden properties are harder to sell. Harder to sell means longer waits for smaller commissions and more work to get it.

These are edicts direct from your government…

 

[Timjoebillybob]

These are edicts direct from your government…

Don't the nationwide realtor groups have lobbyists? Whose job it is is to lobby the govt in the best interests of their clients? In this case,

 

[Ingomike]

Don't the nationwide realtor groups have lobbyists? Whose job it is is to lobby the govt in the best interests of their clients? In this case,

Not sure what this has to do with edicts from HUD…