ClimateCheck data added to Redfin listings

Homebuyers will be able to assess risk for all geographical locations

Homebuyers will be able to utilize ClimateCheck data to assess property risk on Redfin listings (iStock)
Homebuyers will be able to utilize ClimateCheck data to assess property risk on Redfin listings (iStock)

The real estate industry has made another gesture to climate change, with Redfin adding metrics to assess risk on its home listings.

Climate data company ClimateCheck will provide a risk ranking for Redfin listings in all locations, according to Inman. ClimateCheck data has already been added to websites RealScout and Ojo Labs, the publication reported.

Redfin listings will include a rating for fire, heat, drought and storm risks over the course of 30 years, the length of a traditional mortgage. The figures will run from 0 to 100, with zero meaning no risk. Buyers will be able to narrow risk down from the county level all the way to the zip code.

ClimateCheck uses global models for carbon dioxide emissions, then adds local weather patterns into the equation at the local level.

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A previous survey from Redfin found that 49 percent of respondents were factoring climate change into a potential move over the coming year, a likely factor in Redfin’s decision.

Climate change is expected to have an increasing impact on the real estate industry, from valuations to financing to the safety of certain locales. A recent analysis from Stanford University determined that flooding caused by climate change cost the United States about $75 billion over three decades.

Yet some refused to acknowledge the growing danger. In the Hamptons, oceanfront property remains at a premium, despite the threat of rising sea levels. Brokers in South Florida have not seen much effect on homebuying decisions either.

[Inman] — Holden Walter-Warner