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Realtor.com Adds Climate Risk Factor Scores

SANTA CLARA — In the United States40.4% of homes, valued at $19.7 trillion, are at severe or extreme risk when it comes to heat, wind and air quality. To help consumers make more informed home buying and selling decisions, Realtor.com announces the launch of three new climate risk factor scores on its website including Heat Factor, Wind Factor, and Air Factor, with data from First Street, a leading climate technology company with expertise in climate change and the connection of climate risk to financial 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,” said Mausam Bhatt, Chief Product and Technology Officer of Realtor.com. “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.”

Climate Risk

Value at Risk

Share of Homes Affected

Extreme Heat

$13.6 trillion

32.5 %

Extreme Wind

$7.7 trillion

18.1 %

Air Quality

$6.6 trillion

9.0 %

2024 Realtor.com Climate Risk Report

Realtor.com uses First Street’s models that calculate property-level climate risk to present digestible, easy to understand information for its users. Home buyers and sellers can now more fully understand the climate risk associated with a property through maps illustrating exposure to risk factors. They can toggle between factors to see how a particular risk may affect the home’s area in the present and over time, showing current exposure to risks and the expected change for each risk in 15 years, and in 30 years, the length of a typical mortgage.

Across the U.S., certain areas have more value at risk relative to specific climate factors. For example, Miami holds the highest total value of homes at risk for severe or extreme heat (valued at $1,258 billion) and wind (valued at $1,276 billion), while San Francisco has the highest total value at risk of homes at severe or extreme air quality (valued at $1,455 billion). See more market level details here.

More Ways to Evaluate How Climate Risks May Affect Homes 

  • Through Heat Factor, users can access property-level information that displays a heat risk score between 1-10 (minimal to extreme). They can see how many days the property area experiences a heat index (measured as temperature and humidity) at or above the local definition of a “hot day” and they can see the average high “feels like” temperature in the typical hottest month, today and 30 years into the future. In 2024, approximately 32.5% of homes in the U.S., valued at nearly $13.6 trillion, will face severe or extreme risk of heat exposure.

  • Wind Factor assesses property-level risk measured as the chance a property will be exposed to wind gusts exceeding 50 mph at least once, and scores it from 1-10 (minimal to extreme), today and 30 years into the future. This year, 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.

  • Air Factor assigns a property-level air risk score from 1-10 (minimal to extreme) and shows consumers the expected change in poor air quality days (Air Quality Index over 100), today and 30 years into the future.  Approximately 9.0% of homes in the U.S., valued at nearly $6.6 trillion, will face severe or extreme air quality risk in 2024.

Access to climate risk information including extreme heat, wind, and air quality are now available on for-sale homes listed on Realtor.com and will be coming soon to rental properties.

Metros With the Most Share of Home Values at Severe or Extreme Heat Risk*

Metro

Share of Value at Risk

Total Value of Homes at Risk

Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX

100.0 %

$372.7B

Baton Rouge, LA

100.0 %

$67.4B

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

100.0 %

$180.0B

Charleston-NorthCharleston, SC

100.0 %

$155.2B

Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

100.0 %

$101.3B

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

100.0 %

$732.6B

Jacksonville, FL

100.0 %

$233.7B

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

100.0 %

$72.4B

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

100.0 %

$38.0B

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL

100.0 %

$1,258.0B

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC

100.0 %

$91.6B

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

100.0 %

$106.8B

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

100.0 %

$213.7B

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

100.0 %

$356.7B

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

100.0 %

$97.5B

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

100.0 %

$463.6B

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

100.0 %

$47.8B

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

99.6 %

$821.3B

Tucson, AZ

99.4 %

$123.9B

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

99.2 %

$246.5B

Fresno, CA

99.0 %

$96.1B

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

98.9 %

$939.1B

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

97.3 %

$326.3B

Bakersfield, CA

92.1 %

$70.6B

Richmond, VA

86.8 %

$124.4B

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA

82.6 %

$339.3B

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

79.7 %

$42.0B

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

77.9 %

$552.1B

Stockton, CA

72.3 %

$72.7B

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

59.9 %

$195.2B

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

54.5 %

$525.5B

*For metros having 50%+ of total home values at risk

Metros With the Most Share of Home Values at Severe or Extreme Wind Risk**

Metro

Share of Value at Risk

Total Value of Homes at Risk

Baton Rouge, LA

100.0 %

$67.4B

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

100.0 %

$180.3B

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

100.0 %

$155.7B

Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

100.0 %

$101.6B

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

100.0 %

$732.6B

Jacksonville, FL

100.0 %

$233.7B

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

100.0 %

$72.5B

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

100.0 %

$38.0B

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL

100.0 %

$1,276.3B

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC

100.0 %

$91.7B

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

100.0 %

$106.8B

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

100.0 %

$213.7B

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

100.0 %

$356.8B

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

100.0 %

$97.5B

Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

100.0 %

$463.7B

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

71.0 %

$33.9B

Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX

51.3 %

$191.2B

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

51.0 %

$112.3B

**For metros having 50%+ of total home values at risk

Metros With the Most Share of Home Values at Severe or Extreme Air Quality Risk***

Metro

Share of Value at Risk

Total Value of Homes at Risk

Fresno, CA

100.0 %

$97.2B

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA

100.0 %

$410.6B

Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

100.0 %

$72.1B

Stockton, CA

100.0 %

$100.6B

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

99.9 %

$400.5B

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

99.9 %

$793.5B

Boise City, ID

99.7 %

$132.4B

Bakersfield, CA

99.4 %

$77.0B

San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

98.2 %

$1,455.2B

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

76.8 %

$700.6B

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

61.4 %

$441.2B

***For metros having 50%+ of total home values at risk