Zillow Drops Climate Risk Scores After Agents Complained of Lost Sales

Zillow has removed climate risk scores from over a million home listings after real estate agents argued the data was scaring off buyers. TechCrunch reports: Zillow first added the data to the site in September 2024, saying that more than 80% of buyers consider climate risks when purchasing a new home. But last month, following objections from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), Zillow removed the listings' climate scores. In their place is a subtle link to their records at First Street, the climate risk analytic startup that provides the data.

'When buyers lack access to clear climate-risk information, they make the biggest financial decision of their lives while flying blind,' First Street spokesperson Matthew Eby told TechCrunch via email. 'The risk doesn't go away; it just moves from a pre-purchase decision into a post-purchase liability.' First Street's climate risk scores first appeared on Realtor.com in 2020, where they remain. They also still appear on Redfin and and Homes.com. The New York-based startup has raised more than $50 million from investors including General Catalyst, Congruent Ventures, and Galvanize Climate Solutions, according to PitchBook.

Art Carter, the CRMLS CEO, told The New York Times that 'displaying the probability of a specific home flooding this year or within the next five years can have a significant impact on the perceived desirability of that property.' He also questioned the accuracy of First Street's data, saying he didn't think that areas which haven't flooded in the last 40 to 50 years were likely to flood in the next five.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.