Undercover Investigation Reveals Evidence Of Unequal Treatment By Real Estate Agents

[ZiprHead]

https://projects.newsday.com/long-island/real-estate-agents-investigation/

In one of the most concentrated investigations of discrimination by real estate agents in the half century since enactment of America’s landmark fair housing law, Newsday found evidence of widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers and minority communities on Long Island.

The three-year probe strongly indicates that house hunting in one of the nation’s most segregated suburbs poses substantial risks of discrimination, with black buyers chancing disadvantages almost half the time they enlist brokers.

Additionally, the investigation reveals that Long Island’s dominant residential brokering firms help solidify racial separations. They frequently directed white customers toward areas with the highest white representations and minority buyers to more integrated neighborhoods.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Some problems here:

1) The biggest issue was whether they were prequalified or not--being more willing to show houses to someone without prequalification if they were white. To a large degree this is a financial judgment call--does this person seem to know enough about the finances. That's not something they will do a good job of controlling for using paired testers.

2) The next thing they are squawking about is realtors steering buyers to neighborhoods generally favored by other homebuyers of their race. Hey, that's their job--find what the customer wants!

This looks like once again having to stretch to find "evidence" of discrimination.

 

[Arctish]

Some problems here:

1) The biggest issue was whether they were prequalified or not--being more willing to show houses to someone without prequalification if they were white. To a large degree this is a financial judgment call--does this person seem to know enough about the finances. That's not something they will do a good job of controlling for using paired testers.

2) The next thing they are squawking about is realtors steering buyers to neighborhoods generally favored by other homebuyers of their race. Hey, that's their job--find what the customer wants!

This looks like once again having to stretch to find "evidence" of discrimination.

People don't have to be pre-qualified for loans in order to be shown properties. For some types of loans, you have to apply to purchase a specific property. It is not unusual for people to first see what's available and then apply for a loan if they find something they like. And anyway, "does this person seem to know enough about the finances?" is not a question a real estate agent should be asking or would even consider. They get commissions on sales. The bigger the price tag, the bigger the commission.

If the more expensive houses are in neighborhoods where whites congregate, then that's where the agent should want to make a sale. But the race of the prospective buyer influences whether they'll be shown those properties, with black buyers being noticeably less likely to be given a walk-through.

I think some agents fear blowback if they sell a house to a black family and the neighborhood racists take offense. I also think some of the agents are racists themselves, and are doing their part to preserve racial segregation in certain communities. Either way, racial discrimination in the real estate business is an ongoing problem.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Some problems here:

1) The biggest issue was whether they were prequalified or not--being more willing to show houses to someone without prequalification if they were white. To a large degree this is a financial judgment call--does this person seem to know enough about the finances.

We are talking Nassau and Suffolk counties here... where people who aren't "pre-qualified" go home shopping.

2) The next thing they are squawking about is realtors steering buyers to neighborhoods generally favored by other homebuyers of their race. Hey, that's their job--find what the customer wants!

Did the customers say they wanted segregation?

This looks like once again having to stretch to find "evidence" of discrimination.

You likely didn't even read the report.

 

[Trausti]

Cool undercover investigation. Now do university admissions.

 

[Gun Nut]

Some problems here:

1) The biggest issue was whether they were prequalified or not--being more willing to show houses to someone without prequalification if they were white. To a large degree this is a financial judgment call--does this person seem to know enough about the finances. That's not something they will do a good job of controlling for using paired testers.

2) The next thing they are squawking about is realtors steering buyers to neighborhoods generally favored by other homebuyers of their race. Hey, that's their job--find what the customer wants!

This looks like once again having to stretch to find "evidence" of discrimination.

People don't have to be pre-qualified for loans in order to be shown properties.

There is no LAW that says this.. but real estate agents work for a living, and if they know out of experience doing their job that you are not going to make an offer that the seller would consider, then there is no reason for them to waste their time with you on that particular property.

For some types of loans, you have to apply to purchase a specific property.

for every type of mortgage you have to specify the property. not "some". "all".

It is not unusual for people to first see what's available and then apply for a loan if they find something they like.

Seeing what is available is not the same as being given a personal tour of a property and answering your questions and looking up what they don't know off-hand for you.. and contacting the seller for some more information..

And anyway, "does this person seem to know enough about the finances?" is not a question a real estate agent should be asking or would even consider. They get commissions on sales. The bigger the price tag, the bigger the commission.

the bigger the price tag, the fewer qualified buyers... pricing is a dark art. finding the sweet spot on pricing and the type of person that would follow through with a purchase is the art.

If the more expensive houses are in neighborhoods where whites congregate, then that's where the agent should want to make a sale. But the race of the prospective buyer influences whether they'll be shown those properties, with black buyers being noticeably less likely to be given a walk-through.

Like you said, the realtor makes money on SALES.. not on walk-throughs. They spend their uncompensated time on those that show promise that they may buy. It is about finances. If that turns out to correlate with race, then that is the issue... economics.. not real estate.

I think some agents fear blowback if they sell a house to a black family and the neighborhood racists take offense. I also think some of the agents are racists themselves, and are doing their part to preserve racial segregation in certain communities. Either way, racial discrimination in the real estate business is an ongoing problem.

Not for houses... for condos and co-ops that have a community board of owners this could be the case... they could lose their prefered status as a realtor for a co-op if they bring in people that don't pay their mortgage or otherwise create problems for the board or residents.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Some problems here:

1) The biggest issue was whether they were prequalified or not--being more willing to show houses to someone without prequalification if they were white. To a large degree this is a financial judgment call--does this person seem to know enough about the finances. That's not something they will do a good job of controlling for using paired testers.

2) The next thing they are squawking about is realtors steering buyers to neighborhoods generally favored by other homebuyers of their race. Hey, that's their job--find what the customer wants!

This looks like once again having to stretch to find "evidence" of discrimination.

Try reading the article.

 

[laughing dog]

Some problems here:

1) The biggest issue was whether they were prequalified or not--being more willing to show houses to someone without prequalification if they were white. To a large degree this is a financial judgment call--does this person seem to know enough about the finances. That's not something they will do a good job of controlling for using paired testers.

Now, why would someone think whether or not a buyer seems to know enough about the finances because of their race? It is a mystery.

2) The next thing they are squawking about is realtors steering buyers to neighborhoods generally favored by other homebuyers of their race. Hey, that's their job--find what the customer wants!

Now why would anyone assume where homebuyers want to live instead of asking them? Hmmm,

This looks like once again having to stretch to find "evidence" of discrimination.

Actually, it looks more like once again someone is having to stretch to explain away possible discrimination.

 

[repoman]

Some interesting alt right perspectives here:

 

[RVonse]

https://projects.newsday.com/long-island/real-estate-agents-investigation/

In one of the most concentrated investigations of discrimination by real estate agents in the half century since enactment of America’s landmark fair housing law, Newsday found evidence of widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers and minority communities on Long Island.

The three-year probe strongly indicates that house hunting in one of the nation’s most segregated suburbs poses substantial risks of discrimination, with black buyers chancing disadvantages almost half the time they enlist brokers.

Additionally, the investigation reveals that Long Island’s dominant residential brokering firms help solidify racial separations. They frequently directed white customers toward areas with the highest white representations and minority buyers to more integrated neighborhoods.

I don't see a problem. The United States is supposed to be an economy of capitalism where the money finds the buyers and sellers. Since green money is not racist, it follows that people are going to live where they can afford to live. Or they are going to live where they want to live (whether that is a black neighborhood or white one). The real estate agents are going to sell property that they think will sell to people they think will buy because they want to make a living.

If that ends up with neighborhoods separated by race, that would only be a problem if some outsider was bribing the real estate agent with other cash. And the likelihood of that is pretty low. There have to be other reasons why neighborhoods are separated by race.

Like you said, the realtor makes money on SALES.. not on walk-throughs. They spend their uncompensated time on those that show promise that they may buy. It is about finances. If that turns out to correlate with race, then that is the issue... economics.. not real estate.

This.

 

[Trausti]

In our time of multiple real estate websites, if you’re interested in a house there seems little an agent can do to stop that. No agent? Then just go to the open house.

 

[ruby sparks]

https://projects.newsday.com/long-island/real-estate-agents-investigation/

In one of the most concentrated investigations of discrimination by real estate agents in the half century since enactment of America’s landmark fair housing law, Newsday found evidence of widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers and minority communities on Long Island.

The three-year probe strongly indicates that house hunting in one of the nation’s most segregated suburbs poses substantial risks of discrimination, with black buyers chancing disadvantages almost half the time they enlist brokers.

Additionally, the investigation reveals that Long Island’s dominant residential brokering firms help solidify racial separations. They frequently directed white customers toward areas with the highest white representations and minority buyers to more integrated neighborhoods.

Thanks for posting.

I see the usual posse of ‘racism, what racism?’ apologists have gotten here before me.

Imo, this report should worry anyone with a genuine interest in racial fairness in the USA.

I’ll be adding it to my ‘unequal opportunity race’ thread.

 

[Metaphor]

How are real estate sales conducted in America?

I mean: the scenario that plays out here is not my experience of buying nor that of anyone I know who has bought a house or apartment in Australia. I don't know of anybody who did not have some idea of the suburb they wanted to live in. The vast majority of house- and apartment-viewing is via set open-house times (usually on a Saturday) for which you do not need to pre-register. When I bought my apartment (which was off the plan), I did not approach a real estate agency to sell me on developments they had control of marketing -- I simply browsed the Australian equivalent of Zillow to find apartments in my price range and preferred suburbs.

This is not apologia for treating clients differently by race based solely on prejudice. I want to know how realistic the scenarios are in the investigation that people approach an agent with no stated preference for areas, as "looking at listings in a real estate shop window" was a common thing in the 1980s but I cannot imagine anybody except the most technologically unable doesn't start with an internet search of their preferred areas.

 

[Horatio Parker]

How are real estate sales conducted in America?

I mean: the scenario that plays out here is not my experience of buying nor that of anyone I know who has bought a house or apartment in Australia. I don't know of anybody who did not have some idea of the suburb they wanted to live in. The vast majority of house- and apartment-viewing is via set open-house times (usually on a Saturday) for which you do not need to pre-register. When I bought my apartment (which was off the plan), I did not approach a real estate agency to sell me on developments they had control of marketing -- I simply browsed the Australian equivalent of Zillow to find apartments in my price range and preferred suburbs.

This is not apologia for treating clients differently by race based solely on prejudice. I want to know how realistic the scenarios are in the investigation that people approach an agent with no stated preference for areas, as "looking at listings in a real estate shop window" was a common thing in the 1980s but I cannot imagine anybody except the most technologically unable doesn't start with an internet search of their preferred areas.

It's in the article. If you really want to know, read it.

 

[Metaphor]

How are real estate sales conducted in America?

I mean: the scenario that plays out here is not my experience of buying nor that of anyone I know who has bought a house or apartment in Australia. I don't know of anybody who did not have some idea of the suburb they wanted to live in. The vast majority of house- and apartment-viewing is via set open-house times (usually on a Saturday) for which you do not need to pre-register. When I bought my apartment (which was off the plan), I did not approach a real estate agency to sell me on developments they had control of marketing -- I simply browsed the Australian equivalent of Zillow to find apartments in my price range and preferred suburbs.

This is not apologia for treating clients differently by race based solely on prejudice. I want to know how realistic the scenarios are in the investigation that people approach an agent with no stated preference for areas, as "looking at listings in a real estate shop window" was a common thing in the 1980s but I cannot imagine anybody except the most technologically unable doesn't start with an internet search of their preferred areas.

It's in the article. If you really want to know, read it.

I did read the article. I want to know how realistic the scenarios are of somebody walking into a real estate agent and being directed to particular properties, rather than (what I would expect), somebody researches properties online in the areas they're interested in and then approaches the real estate agent to see certain houses. The article doesn't answer that.

 

[ronburgundy]

I don't see a problem.

Yeah, we know.

The United States is supposed to be an economy of capitalism where the money finds the buyers and sellers. Since green money is not racist, it follows that people are going to live where they can afford to live. Or they are going to live where they want to live (whether that is a black neighborhood or white one). The real estate agents are going to sell property that they think will sell to people they think will buy because they want to make a living.

Like you said, the realtor makes money on SALES.. not on walk-throughs. They spend their uncompensated time on those that show promise that they may buy. It is about finances. If that turns out to correlate with race, then that is the issue... economics.. not real estate.

This.

The clients were fictional. They submitted identical portfolios to the agents with similar financial information and the same info on interest in neighborhoods etc. The sole difference was the race of the person. Everything the agents did differently for the clients could have been based on nothing other than the race of the person. That is racism, and of the sort that would be harmful to real minority clients, b/c they were refused service or required to meet higher criteria than whites who provided identical info.

Also, when they were shown homes, they were not shown the better homes in the safer neighborhoods b/c those are in mostly white areas. Given that segregated neighborhoods usually occur due to a combination of historically enforced racist segregation and current financial status, using a person's race rather than the financial info they provided to assume what neighborhoods a person would want to live in is dangerously ignorant and harmful.

 

[laughing dog]

In our time of multiple real estate websites, if you’re interested in a house there seems little an agent can do to stop that. No agent? Then just go to the open house.

Are you arguing that it doesn't matter if these real estate agents are bigots because people can use the internet or are you just trolling?

 

[ronburgundy]

Cool undercover investigation. Now do university admissions.

Your one-trick pony is dead, so stop beating it. Yes, University admissions have racial bias, b/c there have explicit and formal race-based policies in place at many Universities which guarantee differential treatment in favor of those who are neither white nor Asian. And yes, I realize that many here deny this clear empirical fact.

However, every time a systematic investigation is done in domains like the OP where there is no formal AA system in place to ensure discrimination in favor of non-whites, it winds up showing discrimination against non-whites. Situations without formal affirmative action policies outnumber situations like University admissions by at least a thousand to one. That means that for every one instance of a white student not getting admitted to a University for being white, there are thousand instances of blacks being discriminated in ways ranging from not being hired and not getting help finding a home to being shot by the cops for holding a cell phone.

It's fine to point out that AA admissions policies are immoral and racist, I do it often. It isn't fine to dismiss the far more pervasive racist discrimination against non-whites by pointing to those racist AA policies.

Raising objections only to the far less prevalent form of racism reveals your own.

 

[Trausti]

In our time of multiple real estate websites, if you’re interested in a house there seems little an agent can do to stop that. No agent? Then just go to the open house.

Are you arguing that it doesn't matter if these real estate agents are bigots because people can use the internet or are you just trolling?

How is this trolling? We bought our house a few years ago. That was our experience. With all the available information, the buyer has a lot of power.

 

[ruby sparks]

I want to know how realistic the scenarios are of somebody walking into a real estate agent and being directed to particular properties, rather than (what I would expect), somebody researches properties online in the areas they're interested in and then approaches the real estate agent to see certain houses.

Why do you want to know that?