Steering
The illegal practice of channeling or directing home seekers toward or away from specific neighborhoods based on their protected class.
Exam Context & Texas Nuance
Steering
Steering is a discriminatory housing practice that limits housing choice. Real estate agents engage in steering when they make assumptions about where buyers “belong” based on race, religion, or national origin, and filter the properties they show accordingly.
Texas-Specific Nuance & Citation
Steering violates the federal Fair Housing Act and the Texas Fair Housing Act (Texas Property Code § 301.025). TREC actively enforces fair housing standards and can issue substantial administrative fines to any agent found guilty of steering.
The Trap
Many candidates believe steering only occurs if an agent says something explicitly discriminatory. However, steering can be subtle and even well-intentioned, such as an agent choosing not to show a buyer a home in a specific neighborhood because they assume the buyer wouldn’t feel comfortable there.
Worked Example
A prospective buyer of Hispanic heritage asks an agent to show them homes in Plano. The agent, assuming the buyer would prefer a neighborhood with a large Spanish-speaking population, chooses to only show homes in specific subdivisions, withholding listings in other areas. This is steering.