Real estate website Realtor.com has deleted crime data from its website because of worries that it might perpetuate racial injustice. Redfin has also opted not to add it to its platform.
The Washington Examiner reports that Realtor.com CEO David Doctorow announced in a recent company memo that the crime map layer had been removed from all search results on the website. He also claimed that the company would “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.”
Realtor.com has been working with fair housing activists as part of the campaign, and Doctorow explained that the removal was part of a company-wide attempt to “level the playing field.” He said he wanted to examine what safety means to buyers and renters so that the platform can “reimagine how we integrate safety data.” Additionally, Doctorow stated:
“At this time of complexity in real estate, our team has been energized by our purpose to simplify real estate choices, especially for first-time homebuyers. Yet we keep bumping up against one very old and persistent problem: the ability to afford and own a home can be unjustly limited by one’s race, ethnicity, or other personal characteristics. As a relative newcomer to the real estate industry, I’ve been struck by how entrenched this problem is. Stories abound about Black, Hispanic and Asian homebuyers receiving unequal treatment, starting with their ability to see whatever homes they like, and continuing through to the appraisal and mortgage processes.”
At the same time that Realtor.com announced the removal of crime maps, Redfin issued a statement condemning criminal data being posted on real estate websites. After careful analysis, Redfin’s chief growth officer Christian Taubman declared that the business would not be integrating crime data into its platform.
The company had been debating whether or not to include information regarding crime because safety is one of the main variables customers examine when looking for a property to buy.
However, it decided that crime stats don’t provide sufficient answers to the question of neighborhood safety. It claimed that “given the long history of redlining and racist housing covenants in the United States, there’s too great a risk of this inaccuracy reinforcing racial bias.”
Redfin stressed the distinction between crime and safety, arguing that its study, which included surveys, revealed that individuals interpret safety differently. According to Taubman, the available data, especially the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, only covers reported incidents and lacks information on unreported and unsolved crimes. He said that statistics collected at the neighborhood level might be inaccurate.
The announcements from the real estate platforms come amid countless other diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, with executives advocating woke causes in organizations across the board.
Avoid redfin and realtor.com.
Got it.
Perhaps this will enable houses in Seattle, Portland, etc. to sell more readily!