How do I run a School Search?

Nothing in the Fair Housing Act limits buyers’ choices of where they want to live. On the contrary, the Fair Housing Act protects the buyer’s ability to choose housing and prohibits certain actions by sellers, real estate agents, and others who might otherwise limit that choice. This raises the question of what an agent can do to accommodate a buyer’s preferences. Nowhere is this more of an issue than when the question of schools comes up during the homebuyer search.

Discussions about schools can raise questions about steering if there is a correlation between the quality of the schools and neighborhood racial composition–or if characterizations such as “a school with low test scores” or “a community with declining schools” become code words for racial or other differences in the community. Similarly, making unspoken distinctions by promoting a school in one district while keeping silent about the quality of another school can have the same effect. These become fair housing issues.

Link to NAR article – Steering, Schools, and Equal Professional Service