Real estate search giant Zillow has controversially removed climate risk scores from its property listings, making it harder for home buyers wanting to make a well-informed purchase to identify potential flood zones and other risks posed by extreme weather.

The US’s largest real estate listing site quietly nixed the warnings — which explicitly cautioned buyers of flood, fire and heat threats — from more than one million listings in late November, a little over a year after adding them in September 2024.

The move came after real estate agents in several states facing threats from natural disasters complained that the information was causing them to lose sales.

When Zillow added the data last year, the platform reported that more than 80 percent of buyers considered climate risks when purchasing a new home.

Shortly before the scores were excised, the powerful California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) and its CEO had objected to the data, saying the statistics were inconsistent.

CRMLS, considered an industry powerhouse for property listings, is the nation’s largest and most recognized subscriber-based multiple listing service (MLS). The company works with more than 103,000 real estate agents across the state and provides listing information that helps power Zillow’s platform.

Under pressure, Zillow chose to replace the scores with a subtle link to records from First Street, a climate risk analytic startup whose summarized data had formerly been featured on the platform.

‘When buyers lack access to clear climate-risk information, they make the biggest financial decision of their lives while flying blind,’ First Street founder and CEO Matthew Eby told the Daily Mail.

‘The risk doesn’t go away; it just moves from a pre-purchase decision into a post-purchase liability.’

Zillow addressed the change in a statement, saying only that the company is ‘committed to providing consumers with information that helps them make informed real estate decisions.’

‘We updated our climate risk product experience to adhere to varying MLS requirements and maintain a consistent experience for all consumers,’ it said.

Other popular listing platforms like Redfin, Homes.com and Trulia still feature the climate data in their home listings.

Real estate agents have complained about the climate risk scores since they started being included in listings, saying they create unnecessary worry.

CRMLS CEO Art Carter insisted that dropping the data was the right move. He 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.’

Carter also questioned the accuracy of First Street’s data, saying he didn’t believe that areas without flooding over the past 40 to 50 years were likely to flood in the next five.

First Street has defended its work, saying in a statement that the scores ‘are built on transparent, peer-reviewed science and are continuously validated against real-world outcomes.’

And while some homeowners had complained about their inability to challenge the findings, house hunters aren’t happy with the change.

‘Currently home shopping and that’s a big factor in decision making,’ wrote one commenter on a Reddit thread on the topic.

‘Finding that info separately is much more difficult,’ said another.

‘That really sucks. Now I have to go back to the local county assessor websites to get the flood data. ‘ a third chimed in.”Ugh, buh-bye Zillow as my first-string real estate search tool, hello Redfin!’ yet another wrote.

In Zillow’s statement, the platform’s chief economist defended the data without addressing why the information was replaced by a link.

‘Climate risks are now a critical factor in home-buying decisions. Healthy markets are ones where buyers and sellers have access to all relevant data for their decisions,’ said Skylar Olsen.

‘As concerns about flooding, extreme temperatures and wildfires grow — and what that might mean for future insurance costs — this tool also helps agents inform their clients in discussing climate risk, insurance and long-term affordability.’

Consumer advocates had initially praised Zillow for adding the climate risk scores and summary, while real estate agents blamed them for killing deals in markets like Florida, South Carolina and California.

Zillow stressed that that the link to First Street’s data still appears in its listings.

‘Home shoppers can also turn on a climate risk layer in Zillow’s map view to explore flood, wildfire, wind, heat and air-quality risks for a given area,’ its statement read.

‘Consumers can still view a property’s specific climate risk scores for free by clicking the link in the module, which takes them directly to that property’s page on First Street’s website.

‘FEMA flood zone information continues to appear directly on for-sale listings on Zillow.’

[H/T Daily Mail]