Zillow now displays climate risks for real estate listings in the US

Zillow has announced that its US real estate listings will soon include details on climate risks, including the possibility of wildfires, floods, extreme temperatures, high winds and poor air quality. Buyers also find out which insurance is required or recommended for a property.

The climate risk data, provided through a partnership with First Street, which specializes in “financial modeling of climate risks,” will be available on the Zillow website and iOS app by the end of the year and on the Android app early next year. Zillow app will be available.

In August, 16.7 percent of new listings on Zillow had a “high risk of wildfires,” while 12.8 percent had a high risk of flooding, the company said. To alert potential homeowners to these risks, Zillow’s search map is updated with color-coded highlights indicating which areas are likely to be affected by these five key risks, each with its own color scale to indicate potential severity.

When homebuyers view a listing, there will also be a new Climate Risks section detailing the current risks specific to that property and the projected severity of those risks in the future. This helps buyers understand potential wind, fire and flood insurance costs over time.

According to First Street, 78 percent of homes flooded by Hurricane Debby were in areas where flood insurance was not required, but 85 percent of them would have been flagged with an insurance recommendation in Zillow’s new climate risk assessments.