Victor Nava writes for the New York Post about a significant change in federal policy that should help prospective homebuyers.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday urged real estate professionals to share neighborhood school and crime data with prospective homebuyers after websites like Redfin and Trulia stopped during the Biden administration over racial discrimination concerns.
“Buying a home is one of the most significant decisions a family will ever make,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement. “Americans should not be left in the dark about vital facts like neighborhood safety or school quality.
“HUD is making clear that real estate professionals can openly and lawfully provide this information in an equal and consistent manner to American families.”
A 2021 directive to HUD from former President Joe Biden ordered the agency to use the Fair Housing Act to prevent “practices with an unjustified discriminatory effect” and “eliminate racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all stages of home-buying and renting,” as part of the administration’s push for racial equity.
While not directly citing the Biden memo, within a year, several real estate listing platforms, including Redfin, Trulia and Realtor.com discontinued the practice of sharing neighborhood crime data on their websites.
The National Association of REALTORS published material during the Biden years instructing salespeople to not directly answer client questions about neighborhood safety and school quality, over concerns it could violate the Fair Housing Act.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter, HUD’s Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor notified state and local housing groups and real estate professionals of the Trump administration’s position that sharing such data with house hunters will not be viewed as a violation of federal law.
“Contrary to publicly available materials from industry leaders … real estate agents and brokers do not violate the Fair Housing Act merely by discussing with prospective homebuyers or renters the prevalence of crime or the quality of schools in neighborhoods,” Trainor wrote.
