Realtor.com adds climate change risk features; 40% of US homes show risks of heat, wind, air quality

Realtor.com announced Wednesday that it will add features that will provide climate risk information on listings.

The company said that the three features will show the heat, wind and air quality risks associated with a property.

Listings currently show a property's fire and flood risks.

Realtor.com said in a press release that over 40% of homes are at severe or extreme risk when it comes to heat, wind and air quality.

A 2023 report from Harvard University estimated that 60 million U.S. homes are currently vulnerable to climate disasters.

Climate change has already become a factor in residential development and home ownership as insurance companies State Farm and Allstate decided to not offer new homeowner policies in California in 2023. Some insurance companies have made similar decisions in Florida.

Climate change features on Realtor.com

• The "Heat Factor" feature will show how many days the property area experiences a heat index at or above the local definition of a “hot day,” and what the average high “feels like” temperature in the typical hottest month, today and 30 years into the future.
• The "Wind Factor" feature will show the risk of being exposed to wind gusts exceeding 50 mph at least once.
• The "Air Factor" feature will show the expected change in poor air quality days — considered days with an Air Quality Index over 100 — today and 30 years into the future.

Most Climate resilient cities

The research team at USA TODAY Homefront ranked 96 of the 100 most populous U.S. cities across eight metrics to determine the most climate-resilient cities.