I Screamed and Ran, Called 911.’ Three Home Showings That Went South Real Fast
We asked three real-estate agents if they’d ever feared for their lives while on the job
3 min
Q: Have you ever feared for your life while showing a home?
Elizabeth Thompson, real-estate agent, The Agency Los Altos, Los Altos, Calif.
I was representing the seller of a townhome under contract for $1.2 million. A day before the closing, he called to tell me a window was missing. When I arrived, I found that a small sliding window was completely gone, both frame and glass. I thought that my stager had accidentally broken it and took the frame out in order to have the glass repaired. But the seller also mentioned that there was a stain on the carpet in one of the bedrooms. We went upstairs and saw a bright yellow stain next to the closet. I got on my hands and knees to smell the stain. It was not the colour of urine and didn’t smell that way. We went downstairs to discuss a solution for the missing window and then heard a bang upstairs. We went up to check, going from room to room. We finally got to the bedroom with the stain, and when I slid the closet door open, I saw an aluminium container on the floor, like the kind takeout food comes in. I looked to my left, and there was a man standing in the closet. My client and I screamed and ran, called 911 and the intruder was ultimately arrested after he climbed down the balcony to escape. He turned out to be a homeless guy with a 20-page rap sheet, but the scariest part is that when I was kneeling on the ground smelling the stain, he was about 6 inches away from me on the other side of the closet door. To this day, when I open a closet, I still have a gut reaction.
Lindsay Jackman, real-estate agent, Century 21 North Homes Realty, Gig Harbor, Wash.
I am a policeman’s daughter, and now a policeman’s wife, so I have a very thorough process to vet buyers. I never meet a stranger at a vacant house, for example, and always perform public records searches on sellers before going to a listing appointment. But I was about to take a listing on an older four-bedroom home that was used as a rental property, and the sellers were acquaintances of mine. The house had the potential to be listed for upward of $1 million, and I was fairly new in the industry, so it was exciting. I was meeting the sellers at the house for a walk-through to determine its value and whether any updates were needed prior to listing it. During the tour, I learned that the tenant was an ex-police officer with substance abuse issues and a mental-health problem. He also wasn’t paying rent. When we got to the primary bedroom, the door was closed. The seller knocked and opened it, and the tenant, wearing just underwear and a tee shirt, was standing inside the doorway, holding a gun and demanding that we leave. The seller at first tried to calm him down, but then he pulled out a gun from his waistband. The situation was unraveling, and I was petrified. I bolted for the door. I can still remember the pounding in my chest as I fumbled for my car keys. The seller came out a few minutes later, and we all drove to the nearest public place. The seller had known it would be a volatile situation, but he put me in danger and never apologised or gave me the listing. Now I have a new rule for safety: No tenants present in the house, ever.
Eli Faitelson, real-estate agent, Compass Florida, Miami Beach
About three years ago, I was working with the sellers of a single-family home on the water in Miami Beach that was listed for about $1.5 million. I got to the home an hour early to set up for a showing, and I noticed that the ceiling near the kitchen had a huge bubble in it. There was water all over the floor. The air conditioner was up on the roof, and it was leaking, so it had rotted all the wood. The sellers had been in Spain for about a month, so they had no idea what was going on in the house. I started cleaning up, and I was also playing with the AC, trying to figure it out, when I heard the water start to drip a little faster. Then the whole ceiling collapsed on my head. There was wood and AC equipment all over the floor. I was pretty close to getting really injured. I was terrified. I had debris all over me, and I was freaking out. My arm was injured, and I was in shock, but I was still able to cancel the showing.
—Edited from interviews by Robyn A. Friedman
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Australia’s retail property sector entered 2026 as the strongest performing commercial asset class, but rising geopolitical risks and cost pressures are beginning to test its resilience, according to new research from Knight Frank.
The latest Australian Retail Review shows the sector rode a wave of consumer spending and constrained supply through 2025, delivering total returns of 9.2 per cent and driving transaction volumes up 43 per cent year-on-year to $14.4 billion.
That momentum carried into early 2026, with around $3.6 billion in deals recorded in the first quarter alone.
“Retail clearly emerged as the standout commercial property performer in 2025,” said Knight Frank Senior Economist, Research & Consulting Alistair Read.
“Improving household spending, limited new supply and stronger leasing fundamentals combined to drive better income growth and renewed investor confidence in the sector.”
Spending rebound drives retail strength
A lift in household spending has been central to the sector’s performance. Consumer spending rose 4.6 per cent year-on-year to February 2026, supported by easing inflation and improving real incomes.
That shift flowed directly into retailer performance, with average EBIT margins across major retailers rising to 8.9 per cent in the first half of 2026, their strongest level in several years.
“Stronger consumer spending was critical in restoring momentum to the retail sector,” Mr Read said.
“Retailers have generally been better able to absorb costs, rebuild margins and support sustainable rental outcomes, particularly in higher-quality centres.”
Improved trading conditions also pushed leasing spreads up 4.2 per cent in 2025, reinforcing income growth and supporting capital values.
Geopolitical tensions begin to bite
But the outlook has become more complicated. The report warns that escalating conflict in the Middle East and its impact on fuel prices, supply chains and interest rates could weigh heavily on consumer spending.
“Higher fuel prices, flow-on cost pressures across supply chains, and recent interest rate increases are collectively squeezing household budgets, and early consumer sentiment data suggests confidence is already softening,” Mr Read said.
“While household balance sheets remain generally resilient, heightened uncertainty over future costs is likely to weigh on spending — particularly in discretionary categories — in the months ahead.”
The impact is already being felt in investment activity. While the year began strongly, transaction volumes slowed in March as investors paused amid the uncertainty.
“Early indicators suggest elevated uncertainty has already begun to affect the market. While retail investment enjoyed its strongest start to a year in a decade, with nearly $3 billion transacted by the end of February, activity stalled in March, as investors took a pause amid elevated uncertainty,” Mr Read said.
Solid foundations support medium-term outlook
Despite the near-term headwinds, Knight Frank maintains that the sector’s underlying fundamentals remain strong. Limited new supply, high construction costs and population growth are expected to continue supporting rental growth over the medium term.
“Retail has entered this period of uncertainty from a position of strength,” Mr Read said.
“Supply-side constraints, population growth and improving income fundamentals remain powerful structural supports for the sector.”
The report highlights several trends shaping the year ahead, including steady yields as interest rates rise, mounting pressure on tenant margins, continued outperformance of prime centres, the growing need for logistics integration, and risks linked to underinvestment in capital expenditure.
For now, retail remains a sector with momentum, but one increasingly at the mercy of forces far beyond the shopping centre.
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