The recent hurricanes in Florida have some people thinking about the possible threats extreme weather can have on their homes. In addition, recent numbers show climate risks have become a critical consideration in buying homes, which led to Zillow launching a climate-risk tool. But, how reliable is the new tool?
The real estate website teamed up with First Street, a climate risk financial modeling company, to create an interactive platform that gives insight into hazards from floods, wildfires, wind, heat and air quality.
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It shows the risk percentages estimated 15 years and 30 years into the future, the standard lengths of time for fixed-rate mortgages.
A September 2023 Zillow survey found that 83% of people considered climate risks when looking at homes. But, according to Heatmap News, there are a few things to keep in mind when using Zillow’s tool.
Climate-risk tool tips
A Bloomberg investigation found tools like First Street may be questionable because different climate risk models could give very different estimates for the same property.
One tip is to use Zillow’s flood risk assessment as a starting place, but contact the local government to learn more. That’s because the ability to figure out whether a house will flood depends on knowing the local infrastructure including stormwater drains, which does not exist on climate risk models.
Climate experts said to take it seriously if Zillow lists that a property flooded recently, because that data is typically reliable and should be a red flag.
Another note from researchers is that Zillow’s tool will likely underestimate a home’s wildfire risk, especially in the Western U.S. That’s because computer models that estimate wildfire risk are in an early stage of development.
Also, when assessing whether a home faces wildfire or flood risk, a buyer should factor in the whole neighborhood. That includes considering whether the roads would still be drivable if power lines fell, which is not detected on Zillow’s tool.
Main takeaway
Overall, the experts cited by Heatmap News said using climate-risk tools like this can be helpful, but to do your own research, too.
Some believe community officials should be investing in climate-risk tools, so it’s not only up to the consumer to look for data.
For example, the state of California invested in a public wildfire catastrophe model so it can figure out which homes and towns face the highest risk.
