September is REALTOR® Safety Month

In an ongoing effort to help protect our members and keep safety top of mind, Long Island Board of REALTORS® (LIBOR) and National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) dedicate September as REALTOR® Safety Month.

The reality in real estate is that there are some real threats when working in the field, and it is crucial to be prepared. The 2022 REALTOR® Safety Survey highlights alarming statistics of the potential dangers REALTORS® face while on the job:

• 45,000 REALTORS® were victims of a crime while performing their duties.
  
  
• 300,000 REALTORS® felt fear for their safety while on the job.
  
  
• 400,000 REALTORS® do not have safety protocols in place to protect themselves.
  

The goal of REALTOR® Safety Month is to bring awareness of potential dangers and reduce the number of industry-related safety incidents, so every REALTOR® comes home safely to their family every night. There is no better time than now to reassess your safety protocols and make safety a top-of-mind priority.

LIBOR works together with our members to improve the safety culture in the industry by raising awareness, educating on safety protocols, and encouraging all REALTORS® to stay vigilant on the job. To get started, LIBOR has made available an assortment of tools focused on agent safety that brokers and agents can use to establish a strategy that can also be incorporated into current office safety protocol.

Available to all LIBOR members as a FREE member benefit, is the Real Safe Agent (RSA) program. RSA is more than a personal safety app; it is a crime prevention system built specifically for the real estate industry. Based on behavioral science, the system empowers our real estate community to cooperate and collaborate for the purpose of keeping each other safe. We implore all members to take advantage of this free benefit. The more members using the system, the safer everyone becomes.

In 2019, LIBOR established a REALTOR® Safety Alert Network to notify members of local safety concerns and emergencies. Alerts will be issued in situations when a REALTOR® or a REALTOR®’s immediate family member goes missing, an association name is being used fraudulently to dupe consumers or a physical threat to REALTORS® is deemed to warrant national attention.

Additionally, here are NAR’s Top 5 Safety Action Items for REALTORS®:

• Plan Your Safety Strategy

• Tips and Best Practices

• Training Videos

• Personal Protection Resources
  

Throughout REALTOR® Safety Month LIBOR will offer a variety of resources, including daily Safety Tips and weekly Safety Webinars, to empower members to take action and stay safe. Safety is a healthy habit that could save your life. Remember, the real value in real estate is YOU.

For more information on safety tools and resources, visit lirealtor.com/safety.