SHORT LIST

Safe as Houses

The National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR) safety survey, which was completed by nearly 3,000 REALTORS^®, finds that the majority of REALTORS^® feel safe while on the job. The survey also found that 96 percent of participants have never been the victim of crime, but 40 percent have found themselves in situations where they have feared for their safety or the safety of their personal information.

Most REALTORS^® are aware of the risk their job entails and take precautions in one way or another. One-third of surveyed members carry a self-defense weapon, while 38 percent have participated in self-defense classes as a proactive safety measure, and 13 percent use a smartphone safety application to track their whereabouts or alert colleagues of an emergency. Many REALTORS^® also are careful when showing a home to a stranger by first establishing a public meeting place, whether it be at their office or another safe location.

Forty-six percent of respondents said their brokerage has standard procedures for agent safety in place, but 54 percent said their brokerage either had no safety measures in place or they were not aware of them. In response to the ever-growing concerns for safety, NAR announced that it will continue to expand its REALTOR^® Safety Program in 2015 by unveiling new materials and applications for members and associations throughout the year.

“When I became NAR president last year, I pledged to make REALTOR^® safety a priority and develop new education and resources for the industry,” said NAR President Chris Polychron, CRS, executive broker with 1st Choice Realty in Hot Springs, Arkansas. “It is important to know how safe or unsafe our members feel, what causes them to feel unsafe and what steps they are taking to keep themselves out of harm’s way, so that we can respond and provide the best tools tailored to our members’ personal safety needs.”

See the survey’s accompanying infographic at www.realtor.org/infographics/realtor-safety.