The National Association of REALTORS® has recently updated the Standards of Practice to make clear that members are prohibited from using misleading imagery in real estate marketing materials. The change reflects NAR’s position that as consumers increasingly rely on photos to assess properties and images that have been excessively altered or distorted can harm the credibility of the real estate industry and members. These can be alterations like displaying images of what a kitchen would look like if remodeled and photos shot using camera angles that distort room sizes to make them appear significantly larger.
With this change, it may be a good time to take a refresher on how to market your listings to not only follow NAR guideline, but also state and federal laws.
Advertising Under the Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act is in place to prevent any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, religion, sex, handicap, age or any other demographic. This means that when advertising a listing, it is against the Fair Housing Act to use words and phrases that indicate a specific demographic as being better or worse for a listing. These can include references to specific types of familial status, like saying “perfect for young couples.” To make it evident that the listing is available to anyone, regardless of demographic, “all advertising of residential real estate for sale, rent, or financing should contain an equal housing opportunity logotype, statement or slogan,” according to part 109 of the Fair Housing Act.
Kansas and Missouri Advertising Laws
Every advertisement in both Kansas and Missouri should include the name of the brokerage. Advertising rules apply to both traditional advertisements and the use of social media to advertise your business or listings. This also means that the images used on social media and online should be to the same standard as images used in print. Whoever is publishing photos should own the copyright to them, whether publishing in print or otherwise.
