Business
Climate risks threaten trillions of dollars in real estate
Trillions of dollars' worth of real estate is at major risk of damage from flood, fire or extreme wind, a new Zillow® analysis finds.
About this update from Zillow Group, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Eleven major metro areas have at least $100 billion of residential real estate at major risk of fire. Six of those are in California","length":132,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"SEATTLE, March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Trillions of dollars' worth of real estate is at major risk of damage from flood, fire or extreme wind, a new Zillow® analysis finds.","length":177,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"Climate risks threaten trillions of dollars in U.S. real estate","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Climate risks threaten trillions of dollars in U.S. real estate","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":225,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/febcdd1463472dad17ef24299c2356aa"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/D98tQvdHBDO3Nuwn9tRxxQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTM5NztjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/febcdd1463472dad17ef24299c2356aa","width":400,"height":225}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2639696/2025_Climate_Risk.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"U.S. homes with major wind risk — a risk score of 5 or higher, according to First Street data displayed on for-sale listings on Zillow — are worth at least $17 trillion in total, equivalent to more than half of the U.S. GDP. Homes with major fire risk are valued at $9.1 trillion, and homes with major flood risk are worth a cumulative $7 trillion.1","length":349,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""The risk of natural disasters and rising insurance costs are profoundly reshaping the housing market. Home buyers are paying attention," said Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow. "With trillions of dollars in real estate vulnerable to these risks, informed decision-making for what is the biggest purchase of many buyers' lives has never been more critical."","length":385,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Eleven major metro areas have at least $100 billion of residential real estate with major risk of fire, and six of those are in California. The Los Angeles metro has the highest total value of homes at major risk of fire, at $831 billion.","length":238,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"The New York City metro area stands above all other major markets with the highest tota...