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I'm still surprised I can't find any halfway mainstream real estate search tools that include criteria for climate change predictions on water, fire, etc issues

I'm still surprised I can't find any halfway mainstream real estate search tools that include criteria for climate change predictions on water, fire, etc issues. Redfin will show you general stats inside specific listings, but won't let you search on them.

mdgrech23 3y ago
I think looking at more from a state/regional level would be the way to go
- jagged-chisel 3y ago
  I live in a state with coast and mountains. I don't think grouping them together makes any kind of sense when searching the way the commenter suggests.
- richiebful1 3y ago
  FEMA releases a county-level national risk index. I find it to be useful for understanding natural disaster risk as a whole. https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/map https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/map
pseg134 3y ago
Has it ever occurred to you that it means your ideas are very very outside the mainstream? Maybe you will be laughing at us in your water front cabin at the top of the Rockies but probably not.
- yellow_postit 3y ago
  Alternative is there’s an incentive time horizon mismatch. Realtors and property listing sites want to close sales. Most homeowners want a multi year home. Beyond the edges of repeat customers it seems hard to see why a real estate company would have any motivation to provide this information unless they cover an area that will significantly benefit from climate change.
- jackmott42 3y ago
  Of course we understand that half of America has been misled about climate change and other resource constraints and environmental issues. You can still make good money serving the other half. And of course I shouldn't have to say it that the Rockies will certainly not be water front, and no climate scientist is claiming that. Miami high rises may well fall down though.
- HelloMcFly 3y ago
  > Has it ever occurred to you that it means your ideas are very very outside the mainstream? Which "idea" is outside the mainstream here? That climate change will dramatically alter property values and liveability in some locations, or that housing search sites should surface this information proactively as a search criteria? Companies are already starting to massively increase insurance rates (Florida and floods) or drop coverage altogether (California and fires). This is an article about a very real thing happening now in Arizona, though this situation is only exacerbated vs. caused by climate change. Extreme heat events in major cities without true access to a natural water source (e.g., Atlanta) or decaying water sources (e.g., Las Vegas) are happening. We can debate the magnitude of change, but the direction of change is a done deal.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > Has it ever occurred to you that it means your ideas are very very outside the mainstream I recently bought in Wyoming. Low flood, heat and wind risk are actively talked about in the local saloon. The market appears to be segregating into the climate naive and climate savvy, with the latter hoping to profit off a wealth transfer.
- mywittyname 3y ago
  There's the old adage that regulations are written in blood. People are reactive, rarely pro-active. Once enough people are negatively impacted by climate change, we will start seeing tools and laws pop up to help people/business manage the impact. But, right now, politicians and businesses are still able to get away with their lies and denials of the cause and impact. It might be another 10, 20, or 30 years until enough people are hurt by climate change that perceptions on the right change.
jdeibele 3y ago
https://riskfactor.com https://riskfactor.com We were going to buy a house overlooking a creek but were told that an offer had just been accepted. A few days later, we got a call that for some strange reason the sale had fallen through. My wife and I started researching and ran across https://floodfactor.com https://floodfactor.com. It said that there was a 97% chance of a foot or more of water in the house in the next 15 years, incurring more than $100,000 of damage. I wasn't familiar with floodfactor.com but they were linked from realtor.com I'm a little cynical about that - hey, yes, your house flooded but you should have checked that link and it's not your realtor's fault - but it's a sign that their information should be taken seriously. Now they do wildfire and "heat" risks as well as flooding. They might introduce something like water supply risk and other things.
- yellow_postit 3y ago
  This is great. We’re looking at a few areas for a potential vacation home and trying to estimate future climate risk is something we’d like to attempt to account for.
- ericmay 3y ago
  Thanks for sharing. This is interesting and useful. Online real estate companies are very lazy and bad when it comes to adding additional useful info. Once they got a monopoly position and access to MLS in every state (not easy feat, impossible to do today as a founder without serious cash) they just started resting on their laurels. Not only do I care about these kinds of risks, I also care about neighborhood quality and architectural design. None of this is measured let alone searched for. Walk score is a start but again same problem as Risk Factor.
- debacle 3y ago
  Properties in a flood plain have a mandatory disclosure and require special, expensive insurance. This likely came up after the offer was accepted.
  - jdeibele 3y ago
    When the realtor called to say that the previous offer had fallen through and wanted us to buy, he said a couple of times that the owner didn't have to have flood insurance. We hadn't said anything about flood insurance. So it seemed like either the disclosure scared the other buyer or they found riskfactor.com or something like that. Beautiful house, beautiful view. Also a quarter mile below a earthen dam 250 feet high and a few feet above a creek that was raging in 1996, several years before this house was built.
giantg2 3y ago
Most people search in small geographic areas, where the threats apply pretty equally (or the data isn't that granular to distinguish between individual plots). You might be better off looking at insurance data by county.
TSiege 3y ago
Have you tried Risk Factor? https://riskfactor.com/ https://riskfactor.com/

mdgrech23 3y ago

I think looking at more from a state/regional level would be the way to go

jagged-chisel 3y ago
I live in a state with coast and mountains. I don't think grouping them together makes any kind of sense when searching the way the commenter suggests.
richiebful1 3y ago
FEMA releases a county-level national risk index. I find it to be useful for understanding natural disaster risk as a whole. https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/map https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/map

pseg134 3y ago

Has it ever occurred to you that it means your ideas are very very outside the mainstream? Maybe you will be laughing at us in your water front cabin at the top of the Rockies but probably not.

yellow_postit 3y ago
Alternative is there’s an incentive time horizon mismatch. Realtors and property listing sites want to close sales. Most homeowners want a multi year home. Beyond the edges of repeat customers it seems hard to see why a real estate company would have any motivation to provide this information unless they cover an area that will significantly benefit from climate change.
jackmott42 3y ago
Of course we understand that half of America has been misled about climate change and other resource constraints and environmental issues. You can still make good money serving the other half. And of course I shouldn't have to say it that the Rockies will certainly not be water front, and no climate scientist is claiming that. Miami high rises may well fall down though.
HelloMcFly 3y ago
> Has it ever occurred to you that it means your ideas are very very outside the mainstream? Which "idea" is outside the mainstream here? That climate change will dramatically alter property values and liveability in some locations, or that housing search sites should surface this information proactively as a search criteria? Companies are already starting to massively increase insurance rates (Florida and floods) or drop coverage altogether (California and fires). This is an article about a very real thing happening now in Arizona, though this situation is only exacerbated vs. caused by climate change. Extreme heat events in major cities without true access to a natural water source (e.g., Atlanta) or decaying water sources (e.g., Las Vegas) are happening. We can debate the magnitude of change, but the direction of change is a done deal.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> Has it ever occurred to you that it means your ideas are very very outside the mainstream I recently bought in Wyoming. Low flood, heat and wind risk are actively talked about in the local saloon. The market appears to be segregating into the climate naive and climate savvy, with the latter hoping to profit off a wealth transfer.
mywittyname 3y ago
There's the old adage that regulations are written in blood. People are reactive, rarely pro-active. Once enough people are negatively impacted by climate change, we will start seeing tools and laws pop up to help people/business manage the impact. But, right now, politicians and businesses are still able to get away with their lies and denials of the cause and impact. It might be another 10, 20, or 30 years until enough people are hurt by climate change that perceptions on the right change.

jdeibele 3y ago

https://riskfactor.com https://riskfactor.com We were going to buy a house overlooking a creek but were told that an offer had just been accepted. A few days later, we got a call that for some strange reason the sale had fallen through. My wife and I started researching and ran across https://floodfactor.com https://floodfactor.com. It said that there was a 97% chance of a foot or more of water in the house in the next 15 years, incurring more than $100,000 of damage. I wasn't familiar with floodfactor.com but they were linked from realtor.com I'm a little cynical about that - hey, yes, your house flooded but you should have checked that link and it's not your realtor's fault - but it's a sign that their information should be taken seriously. Now they do wildfire and "heat" risks as well as flooding. They might introduce something like water supply risk and other things.

yellow_postit 3y ago
This is great. We’re looking at a few areas for a potential vacation home and trying to estimate future climate risk is something we’d like to attempt to account for.
ericmay 3y ago
Thanks for sharing. This is interesting and useful. Online real estate companies are very lazy and bad when it comes to adding additional useful info. Once they got a monopoly position and access to MLS in every state (not easy feat, impossible to do today as a founder without serious cash) they just started resting on their laurels. Not only do I care about these kinds of risks, I also care about neighborhood quality and architectural design. None of this is measured let alone searched for. Walk score is a start but again same problem as Risk Factor.
debacle 3y ago
Properties in a flood plain have a mandatory disclosure and require special, expensive insurance. This likely came up after the offer was accepted.
- jdeibele 3y ago
  When the realtor called to say that the previous offer had fallen through and wanted us to buy, he said a couple of times that the owner didn't have to have flood insurance. We hadn't said anything about flood insurance. So it seemed like either the disclosure scared the other buyer or they found riskfactor.com or something like that. Beautiful house, beautiful view. Also a quarter mile below a earthen dam 250 feet high and a few feet above a creek that was raging in 1996, several years before this house was built.

giantg2 3y ago

Most people search in small geographic areas, where the threats apply pretty equally (or the data isn't that granular to distinguish between individual plots). You might be better off looking at insurance data by county.

TSiege 3y ago

Have you tried Risk Factor? https://riskfactor.com/ https://riskfactor.com/