Zillow Removes "Suspicious" Climate Data From Listings

Zillow has removed a feature showing extreme weather risks on listings for over one million homes after an MLS provider said it was "suspicious" of the data powering the feature.

Reporting by The New York Times suggests Zillow faced pushback from three sides: an MLS provider, agents and consumers, surrounding the feature.

According to the NYT, the feature was quietly removed after the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) raised concerns that the accuracy of the flood risk models, provided by First Street, could not be verified.

Art Carter, CEO at CRMLS, commented:

"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. When we saw entire neighbourhoods with a 50% probability of the home flooding this year and a 99% probability of the home flooding in the next five years, especially in areas that haven't flooded in the last 40 to 50 years, we grew very suspicious."

Agents argued that the climate risk data damaged sales, while consumers complained that ratings could not be challenged.

Meanwhile, a homeseller in Virginia said a prospective buyer cancelled a visit to the property after seeing a negative flood risk rating on Zillow. The homeowner said the report made "no rational, logical sense," while neighbouring properties received significantly more favourable ratings despite being in the same flood zone.

The NYT said that government estimates of flood risk do not necessarily align with First Street, and that verifying the accuracy of flood risk reports is difficult.

Matthew Eby, CEO at First Street, said bodies including banks, insurers, engineering firms, and federal agencies had all validated the models.

"Our models are built on transparent, peer-reviewed science and the full methodoligies are publicly available for anyone to review on our website."

Madison Condon, associate law professor at Boston University, who has studied climate risk, said forward-looking models are always risky as they forecast events that have not happened.

"The First Street models might provide a good enough answer for certain questions or certain hazards. [The acceptable level of accuracy] changes substantially if the question is about one specific property you are about to spend your life savings on."

Clair Carroll, spokesperson for Zillow, said the portal operator "remains committed to providing consumers with information that helps them make informed decisions."

Zillow has instead replaced the built-in climate risk data with a hyperlink to First Street, giving consumers continued access to the data off-site.