Zillow removes climate risk data from property listings amid accuracy concerns

Zillow, the largest real estate listing site in the country, removed data on the risk of extreme weather conditions intended to help buyers figure out how their biggest home purchase might be prone to floods, strong winds, or wildfires. Such data previously served as a tool for assessing the financial risk associated with buying a home.

Now other large real estate listing sites are under pressure to do the same. The pressure is mounting from CRMLS – the organization that operates one of the largest private real estate listing databases in the United States and is a critical part of Zillow’s business model.

Given concerns about the impact on sales, CRMLS suspects the accuracy of some climate risk data produced by the risk-modeling company First Street. This firm builds present and future hazard ratings for climate-related events, such as wildfires, floods, hurricane winds, extreme heat, and air quality. They appear on real estate listing sites, including Redfin, Realtor.com, and, previously, Zillow.

“Future forecasts proved to be very wrong regarding floods in California.”

A group of executives and managers grew wary after seeing listings for homes with a high likelihood of future flooding – something that breaks decades of no flooding. In addition to Zillow, they also contacted Realtor.com, Redfin, and Homes.com, requesting that First Street’s prognostic figures and flood-layer maps be removed from their listings.

“The probability that a specific home will flood this year, or within the next five years, can significantly affect how appealing the property is,” added Carter.

“Public disclosure of risk data matters, and the data speak for themselves.”

First Street denies that their maps under- or overestimate risks. They claim their maps are more accurate than the limited federal data, such as FEMA flood maps. First Street founder and CEO Matthew Eby told CNN in a letter that their maps during the January wildfires in Los Angeles identified more than 90% of homes as “serious” or “extreme” for fire threat; the state in question updated these maps.

“We take accuracy very seriously, and the data speak for themselves,” Eby told CNN in an email. “When buyers don’t have access to clear information about climate risk, they make the largest financial decision of their lives, acting blindly.”

“Zillow” said that it updated our approach to using climate risk data to meet MLS requirements and provide a consistent experience for all consumers. Company representatives also noted that First Street data remain linked to listings, though less prominently than Redfin and Realtor.com. However, each company may act differently.

“Redfin will continue to provide the best possible assessments of fire, flood, and storm risks. Every house is different, and no model is perfect, so if sellers deem the information inaccurate for their listing, they may ask Redfin to remove it.”

“We are working with CRMLS and our data providers to address the highlighted issues”

Although First Street and similar private companies that create data and models for climate risk are not government information, Oriana Chegvidden, a CarbonPlan expert, notes that this makes it harder to verify accuracy at the individual property level.

“Yes, predicting the future is hard. Yes, people do it. It is important that this science be transparent, because that is what will determine whether someone can obtain insurance or sell their home.”

As a result, there is currently no public database, and Eby noted that access to private data for buyers is essential to protect consumers and prevent long-term financial consequences.

“Such public databases do not yet exist, and the availability of private data accessible to buyers is a crucial condition for consumer protection and preventing long-term financial consequences”

Pressure from real estate market players to remove risk data is growing and is much stronger than during previous market races. The main goal of market participants is to strike a balance between transparency of risks and sales stability to avoid unpredictable financial losses for buyers and homeowners.