As Alex reported 5/5/2012 on Property Source Radio.
Realtor.org – Daily Real Estate News | Tues May 1, 2012
News Sponsored by WNYopenhouse.com
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The number of assaults against real estate professionals is on the rise, with the nature of attacks becoming more violent and sometimes deadly.
Fatal injuries among real estate professionals while working on the job reached in 2010 their highest level since 2003, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures from 2010 are the latest year available.
Sixty-three workplace fatalities occurred in the real estate industry category in 2010, which is a 19 percent rise over the previous year. Of the 63 fatalities, 23 were homicides, according to BLS. That overall total also includes 14 deaths from falls, nine from transportation incidents, and eight from being exposed to harmful substances or environments, Inman News reports on the BLS findings.
That marks the highest level of fatalities since at least 2003 when BLS began collecting such data. The real estate industry category, as defined by BLS, includes landlords, real estate agents and brokers, and those who perform work related to real estate, such as appraisers and property managers.
Landlords appear to be the most vulnerable to attacks. Of the 23 homicides in 2010, 52 percent of the victims were landlords.
In 2010, 940 real estate and rental leasing professionals were victims of nonfatal assaults. That number has steadily risen over the last few years, up from 620 in 2009 and 170 in 2008.
Inman News, in its analysis of the findings, discovered that workplace fatalities among real estate professionals were at their lowest point during 2005, the height of the housing boom. In 2005, 39 fatalities were recorded. The number has been on the rise ever since, particularly in the categories of “assaults and violent acts” caused by others, self-inflicted injury, and animal attacks.
Source: “Assaults, Murders of Real Estate Professionals on the Rise,” Inman News (April 30, 2012) [Log-in required.]