Beginning in 2008, Realtors may have a new tool to ensure their safey.  An announcement about a new feature on GE lockboxes is expected today about a "panic button" should a Realtor feel threatened.

Entering an empty, unfamiliar house with a stranger is all in a day’s work for real estate agents, most of them women.

"You’re on your own," said Nicholle D. Dagata, a real estate agent in Berlin, Conn. Cell phones are an obvious tool but cannot be used inconspicuously and can drop out of range in a basement, she said.

"Sometimes you feel queasy."

I think this is a fabulous idea for all real estate agents.  I’ve only felt threatened once in a situation in which I was babysitting a model home.  Two men wanted to see floorplans, so I went to the kitchen to get them. The followed me and I felt cornered.  Everything was fine, but a panic button had the situation been serious would have come in handy.

The device alerts as many as five emergency contacts and sends them the address of the last lock box the agent opened and a message programmed by the agent.

Read about this new product here.  If you don’t think it’s a good product, read what Julie says here about her recent experience with a creepy guy.  Makes my skin crawl.