Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the southeastern United States in late September, causing billions of dollars in property damage. This week, another storm, Hurricane Milton, is expected to make landfall in Florida, causing even more destruction.
As intensifying natural disasters threaten growing swaths of the country, assessing an area’s climate risk has become an essential part of shopping for a new home for many Americans. According to a recent Zillow survey, more than 4 out of 5 prospective homebuyers consider climate risks when they shop.
Now, in a feature launched last month, Zillow will show how vulnerable properties for sale might be to extreme climate events.
In partnership with First Street, a climate modeling company, the climate data shared by Zillow is divided into five categories: flood, wildfire, wind, heat and air quality. Home shoppers can explore climate risk data on Zillow’s site through color-coded maps or on individual listings. The feature not only shows a home’s risks today, but it also estimates a home’s climate risks 15 years and 30 years into the future, which are the typical lengths of fixed mortgages.
In addition, Zillow said it is the only platform to offer tailored insurance recommendations alongside the risk information.
“Climate risks are now a critical factor in home-buying decisions,” Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow, said in a statement. “As concerns about flooding, extreme temperatures and wildfires grow — and what that might mean for future insurance costs — this tool also helps agents inform their clients in discussing climate risk, insurance and long-term affordability.”
CoreLogic, a data analytics firm, estimates that the insured losses from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene will be between $6 billion and $11 billion, while the uninsured flood losses are estimated to be between $20 million and $30 million.
A growing number of home listings come with major climate risk compared to homes listed for sale five years ago, according to an August Zillow analysis. Across all new listings on the website in August, 55% carry a risk of extreme heat and one-third are at risk of extreme wind exposure. Nearly 17% of homes for sale are at major wildfire risk, 13% have an air quality risk and 13% are at risk of flooding.
