What is the exam-ready distinction?
| Official syllabus topic | Practice of Real Estate: Federal Fair Housing Prohibitions |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Practice of Real Estate |
| Published weight | 12% of the 100-question national portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes a weight for the complete official area, not a guaranteed count for this individual comparison. Use the source, document, actor, event, and timing stated in the question before applying a memorized definition.
Side-by-side comparison
Read across each row. The terms are deliberately compared on identical dimensions so the difference remains clear when the exam hides the vocabulary inside a scenario.
| Decision dimension | Steering | Blockbusting | Redlining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conduct | Directing or limiting housing choices because of a protected characteristic | Inducing owners to sell or rent through protected-class change representations | Discriminatory denial or different terms for housing-related credit or services, often by geography |
| Typical target | Buyer or renter | Existing owner | Borrower or neighborhood applicant |
| Exam clue | Different homes or areas shown based on protected class | Panic-selling message about protected-class entry | Map or neighborhood-based credit denial tied to protected class |
| Not required | A written discriminatory policy | An actual demographic change | A literal red line on a paper map |
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A licensee shows Black buyers homes only east of a highway while showing comparable white buyers listings throughout the requested area because of race.
Reason it through. The conduct limits housing choices differently based on a protected characteristic. It is not a panic-selling message to owners or a lending decision.
Answer. The conduct is steering.
Common exam traps
- Classifying by geography alone
- Requiring an explicit slur or written policy
- Calling neutral consistent data automatically steering
- Confusing lender redlining with agent steering
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A licensee shows Black buyers homes only east of a highway, while showing comparable white buyers listings throughout the area they requested. What violation is this?
- A. Blockbusting
- B. Redlining
- C. Steering
- D. None, since homes were shown
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Steering
Steering limits or directs housing choices because of a protected characteristic. These buyers were limited to one area because of race, while others saw the whole requested area. Redlining can look relevant because geography is involved, but redlining concerns lending or services, not which homes a licensee shows.
Question 2A licensee mails homeowners in a neighborhood a letter warning that values will fall because families of a particular national origin are moving in, and urges them to list now. What is this?
- A. Blockbusting
- B. Steering
- C. Redlining
- D. Lawful market commentary
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Blockbusting
Blockbusting is inducing owners to sell or rent through claims about a protected class entering the area. The letters target existing owners and pressure them with a national-origin message, and no actual change in the neighborhood is needed. It is not steering, because steering directs buyers or renters, not owners.
Question 3A lender refuses to make home loans in certain neighborhoods because of the racial makeup of the residents, regardless of each applicant's credit. What is this?
- A. Steering
- B. Blockbusting
- C. Lawful risk-based pricing
- D. Redlining
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Redlining
Redlining is discriminatory denial of housing credit or services, often by neighborhood. Refusing loans because of an area's racial makeup, whatever the applicant's credit, fits that exactly. Steering is wrong because steering is a licensee directing homeseekers, not a lender refusing credit.
Ready to move on?
You have this distinction down when all of these are true.
- Define every compared term without using the other term as the definition.
- Rebuild the comparison table from memory.
- State the decision rule and Georgia distinction without notes.
- Solve the worked example after changing one key fact.
- Explain the rule or fact that makes each distractor wrong.
- Answer all three original questions correctly in mixed practice on a later day.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Reasonable Accommodation Versus Reasonable Modification. The next page covers a different fair housing duty: instead of classifying discriminatory conduct, you sort disability requests into accommodations, which change a rule, and modifications, which change the premises.
Return to the complete exam-concept library or the Practice of Real Estate hub.