Open houses, vacant and model homes, properties that were unlocked or unsecured, and properties in remote areas are among the top situations that bring fear to members responding to NAR’s recently released 2017 Member Safety Report.
Of the 3,277 survey respondents, 44% of women and 25% of men said they’ve experienced concern for their own safety. When it comes to location, about 40% of real estate professionals in suburban and urban areas said they’ve been in a situation that caused them fear, and 35% in rural areas.
However, safety incidents are relatively rare, with 95% of respondents saying they have not been a victim of a crime while on the job. About 44% of respondents said their real estate offices have standard procedures for agent safety, and more than half have a procedure for safeguarding and disposing of client data.
Many are also being personally proactive in regard to safety, with 39% of members stating they’ve participated in self-defense classes and 20% having taken a REALTOR® safety course.
Nearly 60% of women and 52% of men carry self-defense weapons. For women, the most common is pepper spray, followed by a firearm. More men say they carry a firearm, and half as many carry a pocket knife.
Additionally, 44% of members said they use a smartphone safety app to track their whereabouts and alert colleagues in case of an emergency, including the Find My iPhone feature, GPS Phone Track for Android, Life 360, and HomeSnap Pro.
FREE SAFETY CLASS THIS WEEK
Learn defense strategies and how to be safer on the job at CVAR’s free REALTOR® Safety class on Wednesday, live at Glendora headquarters and live streamed to CVAR West, 1170 Durfee Ave., Ste. A, South El Monte, and CVAR East, 8229 Rochester Ave., Ste. 120, Rancho Cucamonga. REGISTER HERE
Source: REALTOR®mag