It has been in the 90’s in January in California and below freezing East of the Rockies, so this seems like a timely topic.
Originally developed for the insurance industry to help them calculate rates, climate disaster scores rate risk exposure to natural disasters such as flood, wildfire, and wind. There are three primary companies that do this rating: First Street, Hazardhub and ClimateCheck—and their results do not always agree. Results are often listed on public home-listing sites such as Zillow.
For the potential buyer, these numbers can affect the decision of whether or not to consider a property, or to negotiate for a “potential-disaster discount.”
According to a Zillow analysis, a high flood or fire score makes a house less likely to sell, or, if they do sell, go for under the initial list price. Sellers who find inaccuracies in these scores find them difficult to change.
The California Regional Multiple Listing Service, a database owned by local Realtor associations, pushed the listing platforms to stop displaying flood-risk data from First Street out of concern over accuracy. Zillow removed First Street scores, but Realtor.com stopped listing only the flood data. Redfin left the ratings up but will remove the scores at a home seller’s request.
If you are buying a home in California, you will still receive a natural hazards disclosure report (NHD) that shows where the property is within potential hazard zones, so you can make an informed decision about living in that location.