Zillow removed climate risk scores, because property-level modeling is not foolproof

When Zillow removed climate risk scores from property listings, many assumed the company acted out of political pressure. The main issue though was that the risk models behind the scores were not reliable enough. For Bloomberg, Eric Roston reports:

“You have to know something about the individual structure — its foundation, the presence of a basement, first-floor height,” says Howard Botts, chief scientist of Cotality.

Each assumption that a model makes, implicitly or explicitly, adds another layer: land slope, a building’s use, how many stories it has.

“‘Climate risk’ is much more than just the physical hazard,” agrees Adam Pollack. “The relationship of hazard and the built environment — and damage — is the actual risk.”

Most climate models are abstract and high level out of necessity. Assessing risk at the individual level is tricky, especially when there are so many variables to consider. Plus, in the case of individual homes, the value of each is especially relevant to both buyers and sellers. You can’t just give a sweeping aggregate.