Amid escalating climate concerns, Realtor.com has launched enhanced tools to help homebuyers and sellers evaluate the climate risk exposure of a property, according to a company announcement on Wednesday.
Realtor.com is leveraging data from First Street, a climate technology company, and will offer three new risk factor scores — heat, wind and air — to complement existing fire and flood assessments. Using a 1-10 scale, the portal displays current risk factors for a property as well as the expected change for each risk in 15 and 30 years, the length of a typical mortgage.
The cost of homeowners insurance policies has skyrocketed in the past two years as U.S. insurers have grappled with exponential growth in natural disaster claims.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, weather-related disasters displaced 2.5 million Americans in 2023. Presently, a staggering 40.4% of U.S. homes, valued at $19.7 trillion, face severe or extreme climate risk.
“Realtor.com currently offers users an in-depth look at fire and flood risks. When you consider the percentage of American homes, and the value at risk, against factors like extreme heat, air quality and wind, it was imperative for us to deliver more robust and comprehensive climate risk information to our users,” Mausam Bhatt, chief product and technology officer at Realtor.com, said in a statement.
“It’s important for people to fully understand the climate risks that a home faces not only in the present, but in the future, so they can make the most informed decision for one of the biggest purchases and investments they will make in their life.”
U.S. cities are not equal in the face of climate risk. Miami, for example, holds the highest value of homes at severe heat ($1.258 trillion) and wind ($1.276 trillion) risk, while San Francisco leads in air quality risk ($1.455 trillion).
In 2024, 32.5% of U.S. homes, worth $13.6 trillion, face severe heat risk, according to Realtor.com. Meanwhile, approximately 18.1% of homes in the U.S., valued at nearly $7.7 trillion, will face severe or extreme risk of hurricane wind damage. And about 9% of homes, valued at nearly $6.6 trillion, will face severe or extreme air quality risk.
Realtor.com pioneered climate risk data in 2020 as one of the first portals to include flood risk assessments on property listing pages. It added wildfire risk in 2022.
