So what is “climate risk” and how does it relate to your home… or where you might want your next home to be?
One company has been collecting data points on various risks for properties and other companies have been incorporating that into their products to offer you even more information.
Be sure to scroll down to watch a couple of my very informative videos!
First Street
FirstStreet.org has made it their mission to collect and correlate climate data to so that the financial risk climate might have on properties can be determined; “…to quantify and communicate the risk of every property in the country”. First Street makes this data available to others… like in the real estate field; Zillow and RedFin for example.
Zillow Talks About Climate Risk
Zillow says, “The increasing power of storms, floods and wildfires have made more potential home buyers pay attention to climate risks when shopping for a home. If you’re one of those buyers, you can now see whether a property you’re eyeing is at risk for a climate-related event by checking climate risk data on every home listed for sale on Zillow.”
This data from Zillow considers the “risk for flood, wildfire, high winds, extreme heat and/or poor air quality.” They also give you “an estimate of the likelihood that such an event could affect that home over the next 30 years.”
Why is Climate Risk Important to You?
There’s a lot at risk! Zillow says, “U.S. homes with major wind risk — a risk score of 5 or more in First Street data displayed on for-sale listings on Zillow — are worth at least $17 trillion, homes with major risk of fire are valued at $9.1 trillion and homes with major flood risk are valued at $7 trillion1. The value of homes with major fire risk alone are worth almost a third of the U.S. GDP.”
It might be important to YOU to live where you do with these risks in mind… and where you might want to relocate to.
Zillow's Climate Risk Map
On this Zillow map, you can select, one at a time, among the climate risks provided. In this case “Wind” is selected and it only indicates that the eastern seaboard along the coast down to Texas shows any risk from wind. This is a fun map to play around with… but see if you don’t find that there’s just something missing🤔
Missing Information - Not a Full Picture?
The first thing that seemed missing is tornadoes. Where Zillow, and First Street, showed the “wind” risk just concentrated on the southeast coastal areas, tornadoes (which, if I’m not mistaken, should be considered a risky wind event) is found in much of the country east of the Rockies. Check out this FEMA map.
Something else that really seems to be missing… and it might not be technically “climate” related but it certainly is a HUGE risk that affects housing… is earthquakes! This map from the USGS (US Geological Survey; Dept of the Interior) clearly shows the parts of the country at risk from earthquakes.
So Much More to Consider When Relocating
When it comes time to reflect on where it is that you currently live and you question that there may be a better place for you to live, YOU need more than just the couple of data points that First Street and Zillow provide. We already know that they’ve ignored some very important natural disaster categories. But there are many more things that might be important to you and those can be found in this book, Strategic Relocation, by Joel Skousen. (You can get the 4th edition at Amazon or read the 3rd edition for free on Internet Archive.)
You’ll find in Strategic Relocation topics and data on not just climate but also on freedom and politics, crime, standard of living, prospects for war and terrorism and more!
Treasure Valley Dave's Thoughts
I have to say, I’m not sure what this Climate Risk push from First Street and Zillow is all about, but I get the sense it’s about money somehow… they are in a position to influence people to live in one place or another and/or provide a means for insurance companies to raise premiums (have you ever heard for premiums going down?). The big clue is that they totally ignore some very important data; some other natural disaster risks and that of crime and standards of living. It sure seems that helping YOU find the best place to live isn’t their main goal.
When I was trying to figure out where to escape to from California, I absolutely relied upon the book Strategic Relocation. Having the broad array of data really helped me figure out the very best place to relocating to… and we relocated to Idaho.
As your research progresses and you find that it’s time to make your fact-finding trip to the Treasure Valley, or when you’re ready to buy your next home and just get to Idaho as quick as possible, just let Mareen and me know when you’re coming and we’ll spend some time together exploring the Treasure Valley or even finding your next home! Just call, text, email or smash that Contact Us button and let’s get connected! Maybe we can do lunch too! 🙌
