Blockbusting
National Real Estate Exam glossary · Practice Of Real Estate
Definition
The illegal practice of inducing owners to sell or rent by representing that members of a protected class are moving into the neighborhood, thereby profiting from the turnover. Also called panic selling, it is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act with no exemption.
Blockbusting in plain English
Blockbusting is an illegal scare tactic where a real-estate agent tries to spook homeowners into selling fast and cheap by whispering that people of a certain race, religion, or other protected group are 'moving in' and that home values will crash. The agent then buys low, resells higher, and pockets the difference — profiting off fear and prejudice. Think of someone yelling 'sell your stock now, it's about to tank!' just so they can scoop it up cheap, except here it's fueled by bigotry. The Fair Housing Act flatly bans this, with zero exceptions.
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