Zillow Will Show Climate Change Risk In Home Listings

Zillow is about to add climate change risks to their
 extensive online home buyer site. 

 Zillow, that  ubiquitous real estate site that probably now displays every house in the world, and probably some on Pluto, will give climate change risks to all their listings.  

According to Zillow: 

"Zillow is introducing climate risk data, provided by First Street, the standard for climate risk financial modeling, on for-sale property listings across the U.S.  Home shopper will gain insights into five key risks - flood, wildfire, wind, heat and air quality - directly from listing pages, complete with risk scores, interactive maps and insurance requirements."

To get their hands on the climate risk data, Zillow partnered with an outfit called First Street, which specializes in climate risk financial modeling. 

It turns out, quite a few properties are not in great spots if you're worried about climate change disasters. 

As the Verge reports:

"In August, 16.7 percent of new listings on Zillow were at 'major risk of wildfire' while 12.8 percent had a major risk of flooding, says the company. To make potential homeowners aware of those risks, Zillows search map will be updated with color-coded highlights indicating which areas are likely to be affected by those five key risks, with each one having its own color scale to indicate the potential severity."

First Street offers an example of how the Zillow climate listings might be helpful:

About 78 percent of homes flooded by Hurricane Debby this summer were in spots where flood insurance isn't mandatory. However, 85 percent of them would have been flagged with insurance recommendations in Zillow's new climate risk listings. 

Zillow might have a willing market for this climate information.  A 2023 survey conducted by Zillow indicated eighty percent of buyers now consider climate risks when shopping for a home. 

While Zillow's climate risk information might be helpful, and First Street is a reputable and expert data company, judging risks like this still falls short of perfection. Per the Washington Post:

"Climate risk modeling experts are still developing the best possible way to measure the probability of flooding, fires and other natural disasters in any given area, notes Jesse Keenan, a professor of sustainable real estate and urban planning at Tulane University. 

The data provided from consumer-facing models can be 'uneven' depending on where a person is house hunting, because some risks have been studies more extensively in certain regions than in others, he said."

For most of us, buying a home is one of the biggest investments, if not the biggest investment we'll make in our lifetimes. We want to get it right. Climate change is one way the investment can go south in a hurry. 

So it's good that there are at least efforts to inform potential homebuyers. 

The climate information on Zillow's web site and on the iOS app should be available by the end of this year. It'll be on Android sometime next year.