Steering in real estate is the practice of pushing buyers or renters toward or away from neighborhoods based on protected characteristics like race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. This conduct distorts choice, shapes community demographics, and violates the federal Fair Housing Act, which has prohibited such discrimination since 1968. The harm goes beyond one transaction because steering compounds segregation and narrows access to opportunity across generations.
How Steering Shows Up
Steering can be overt or subtle, which makes it hard to spot in the moment. A real estate agent might highlight only certain areas for one client, while offering broader options to another client with the same budget and criteria, which limits genuine choice. Seemingly friendly comments about schools, safety, or a neighborhood’s fit can cross the line when they tie to a client’s identity, or imply demographic judgments.
The Law and Your Rights
The Fair Housing Act bans steering and protects buyers and renters based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability across most housing activities, from showings to financing to closing. Many states and cities add further protections, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, military status, and more. This broadens coverage and remedies. These layers of protection work together and do not replace federal rights that apply nationwide.
Signs to Watch For
- You receive fewer listings or narrower areas than peers with similar budgets and needs, which can indicate unequal service.
- You hear coded guidance about where people like you do or do not live, that steers choices based on identity rather than criteria.
- You are discouraged from touring certain neighborhoods, despite objective fit on price, size, commute, or features.
Best Practices for Consumers
Ask for objective data like price trends, commute times, school report links, crime statistics from public sources, and zoning maps to guide decisions with facts. Define your criteria in writing and request listings that match those inputs across all qualifying areas for consistent coverage. Keep a simple log of emails, texts, and showings so you can compare options and timelines across neighborhoods if concerns arise.
Best Practices for Professionals
Stick to the client’s stated criteria and provide neutral and fact-based information drawn from reputable public sources to avoid subjective framing. Train teams on Fair Housing duties and local expansions of protected classes, as well as audit listing recommendations for consistency across clients. Avoid statements about good neighborhoods or better schools and focus on verifiable metrics that clients can interpret for themselves.
Fair, Local, and Client‑first with NJLux
Choose NJLux for transparent real estate service in Bergen County, with listings that match your criteria and data that empowers your decisions. Our team delivers local market expertise, robust listing exposure, and attentive guidance from first tour to closing.
You get objective neighborhood reports, pricing strategy tailored to your timeline, and consistent communication that keeps you in control. Searching for homes for sale in Bergen County or planning to list your property for top visibility? Reach out today. Book a private consultation with NJLux, and move forward with confidence on a fair and client‑first path.
