Misleading Realtor Ads
You’ve seen the ads.
The catchy headline says “Signs of the Times” (or something similar), followed by rows — and rows — of homes with “Sold signs” proudly splashed on 
them.
At the bottom is the Realtor’s picture and a greeting: “Thank You For Your Business! We’re Looking Forward to 2011.”
There’s only one catch:
The Realtor didn’t sell most — or any — of the pictured homes.
Code of Ethics
Is that kosher?
Unh-unh.
The Realtor Code of Ethics explicitly forbids deceptive advertising.
So, how come you see so many ads with this format — especially now, with home owners contemplating listing their homes this Spring?
Fine Print
If you scan the fine print, you’ll find — guaranteed — a disclaimer stating that the pictured homes represent all the listed or sold homes in a particular area for a prescribed period (like 2010) . . . but not necessarily by the Realtor in the ad.
Just this week, I saw an ad fitting this profile that literally pictured 50 nicer, middle class homes.
Which would be quite a feat, given that perhaps only a dozen Realtors in the state sold that many homes last year, and virtually all of those were foreclosures under $100k (sometimes, a lot under).
