Prospective homebuyers, take note. Just over a year after introducing climate risk scores, Zillow has removed them from more than one million listings. This reversal came after real estate agents complained that the information was causing them to lose sales.
Zillow first added the climate risk data to its site in September 2024, citing that more than eighty percent of buyers consider climate risks when purchasing a new home. However, last month, following objections from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Zillow removed the prominent scores. In their place is now a subtle link to records at First Street, the climate risk analytics startup that provides the data.
First Street spokesperson Matthew Eby commented on the change, stating that when buyers lack clear climate-risk information, they make the biggest financial decision of their lives while flying blind. He emphasized that the risk does not disappear; it simply shifts from a pre-purchase consideration into a post-purchase liability.
First Street’s climate risk scores first appeared on Realtor.com in 2020, where they remain today. They also continue to appear on Redfin and Homes.com. The New York-based startup has raised more than fifty million dollars from investors including General Catalyst, Congruent Ventures, and Galvanize Climate Solutions.
Art Carter, the CEO of the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, explained that displaying the probability of a specific home flooding in the near future can significantly impact the perceived desirability of that property. He also questioned the accuracy of First Street’s data, expressing doubt that areas which haven’t flooded in decades would likely flood in the next five years.
This is not the first time real estate agents have raised concerns about climate risk scores. When Zillow introduced the feature last year, an agent in Massachusetts said the scores were putting thoughts in people’s minds about listings that normally wouldn’t be there.
First Street defended its data, stating its models are built on transparent, peer-reviewed science and are continuously validated. The company pointed to its performance during the Los Angeles wildfires, where its maps identified over ninety percent of the homes that ultimately burned as being at severe or extreme risk, significantly outperforming official state hazard maps.
Official hazard maps have faced criticism in recent years for being outdated or underestimating risk. A Louisiana State University analysis found that nearly twice as many properties carry a significant annual flood risk than are listed on Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps, which are used to mandate flood insurance.
The real estate and insurance industries have been racing to keep up with worsening weather wrought by climate change. As one venture capitalist noted four years ago, if buildings are on fire or underwater, they don’t have much value. He stated that discussions with large insurers about these issues are unprecedented.
Investors, insurers, and cities are likely to continue using data from companies like First Street to determine where climate risks lie. By offering homebuyers access to the same data, Zillow had helped level the playing field. But thanks to the objections of real estate agents, consumers now have one more hoop to jump through.