Since there have been several murders and hundreds of attacks on real estate agents, the National Association of Realtors has conducted a survey of over 2,800 agents and I thought I’d share the results with you!

The common situations that cause fear are:

• Open houses
• Vacant homes/model homes
• Properties that were unlocked/unsecured
• Properties in remote areas

And the survey says:

• Percentage of agents who experienced fear/personal safety: 40%
• Percentage by gender of agents who experienced fear/personal safety
  • Male 25%
  • Females 48%
• Types of crimes committed against Realtors: Robbery, assault, identity theft
• Types of self-defense weapons used: Pepper spray (17%), firearm (12%), taser (4%), baton or club (3%)
• Percentage of agents using cell phones to track their location and the location of other agents – 13%
• Common phone apps used to track whereabouts
  • Life 360
  • iPhone Find My Phone Feature
  • bSafe
  • Gardly
  • Google Family Locator
• Percentage of Broker Companies that provide safety procedure/classes to their agents: 46%
• Percentage of Agents who took responsibility for their own safety
  • Self-defense classes: 38%
  • Realtor-sponsored safety classes: 18%

Just a couple more things the NAR mentioned in their survey:

• The typical agent meets 50% of their prospective buyers (that they do not know) in their real estate office or a neutral location before first viewing a home.
• As a safety precaution, agents notify a spouse, friend, or family of their location before showing a home.

What safety precautions do you take before showing a home?

Remember, Fairway Independent Mortgage is an Open Door Partner offering a safe place to go for meeting new clients for all our real estate partners.