Casten Urges Real Estate Industry to Provide Climate Risk Information to Homebuyers

April 30, 2026 Casten Urges Real Estate Industry to Provide Climate Risk Information to Homebuyers Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) led 16 House Democrats in urging leaders of the real estate industry to provide homebuyers with critical information on the climate risks to which prospective individual home purchases may be exposed. “While there is still room for improvement in climate risk scoring systems, the best available data will help prospective homeowners and renters properly evaluate the long-term costs and hazards associated with a given property, strengthening their ability to make a sound investment,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are alarmed at reports of pressure against entities providing such information, since doing so diminishes the public’s ability to make informed choices and undermines resilience in vulnerable communities. As climate change intensifies, it is vital to ensure transparency in real estate transactions, now and in the future.” The letter was sent to the CEOs of Zillow , Rocket Companies (Redfin) , Move, Inc. (Realtor.com) , Costar Group (Homes.com) , Compass , California Regional Multiple Listing Service , and the Council of Multiple Listing Services . Recent public reporting indicates that real estate websites, such as Zillow , have been pressured to remove climate risk information from their websites. As an integral part of the real estate ecosystem, real estate information platforms often serve as consumers’ first point of contact for real estate listings, ensuring that American families have upfront access to comprehensive and trustworthy information when making some of the most significant financial decisions of their lives. American consumers are increasingly exposed to climate-related risks in the housing market, including from high immediate insurance costs that often do not become apparent until late in the home-buying process. The problem can be even more severe in the later years of a thirty-year mortgage – as climate risks increase, homeowners may face sharply rising premiums or reduced availability of coverage. A lack of climate risk information disadvantages buyers already navigating the current affordability crisis. In addition to Rep. Casten, the letter was signed by Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Lloyd Doggett, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Shri Thanedar, Madeleine Dean, Adelita Grijalva, Joyce Beatty, Mike Quigley, Sylvia Garcia, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Maxwell Frost, Valerie Foushee, Mike Levin, Julia Brownley, and Kevin Mullin. A copy of the letter can be found here . Text of the letter can be found below. Dear [CEO] We write to express the importance of upfront, consumer access to climate risk information. Concerning recent reporting indicates that the real estate website of your company, Zillow, along with several other real estate sites, have received pressure to remove climate risk information from their listings. This will harm consumer access to critical data. As an integral part of the housing listing ecosystem, real estate information platforms often serve as consumers' first point of contact for real estate listings. These platforms play a pivotal role in ensuring that American families have upfront access to comprehensive and trustworthy information when making some of the most significant financial decisions of their lives. Cooperation across the housing listing ecosystem in providing ready access to that information is critical. Consumers are increasingly exposed to climate-related risks in the real estate market, including from higher insurance costs that often do not become apparent until late in the process of purchasing a home. A lack of critical risk information disadvantages buyers already navigating the current affordability crisis. As climate change-driven weather events become more extreme, the need to identify, disclose, and price climate risk is no longer theoretical, it is current and urgent. Costly, disruptive increases in flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, sea level rise, and storm intensity are already reshaping housing markets and communities across the United States. Recent data underscores the scale and acceleration of these risks: From 1980 to 2024, the United States averaged 9 weather disasters annually, causing more than $1 billion in losses. Over the past five years, that number has increased to 23 per year. Wildfires now burn more than twice as many trees each year as they did two decades ago. The most extreme year on record for forest fires was 2024, with at least 13.5 million hectares of forest burned, 13% more than the previous year. Northern high-latitude regions are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the planet, resulting in longer fire seasons, greater fire frequency and severity, and larger burned areas in boreal forests. The years 2015-2025 have been the hottest on record, with 2025 being the second or third warmest year since observations began. Extreme heat poses a high health risk to people and can have serious additional economic repercussions. Sea levels along the U.S. coastlines are estimated to rise an additional 10-12 inches in the next 30 years, which will increase coastal flooding by increasing tide and storm surge heights and driving impacts further inland. With sea levels projected to increase by up to 4 feet by 2100, the question for hundreds if not thousands of communities around the country may no longer be the frequency of flooding, but their very viability as residential locations. Taken together, these trends make clear that climate risk is a present and growing financial risk. Failing to provide transparent, actionable information to consumers distorts housing markets and leaves families exposed to escalating costs that otherwise might be avoidable. Climate hazards are already reshaping homeownership in America and have harmed millions of homeowners. Current risk assessments show that 26% of U.S. homes, valued at around $12.7 trillion, are exposed to at least one severe or extreme climate risk, including floods, wildfires, and hurricane-strength winds. Of these, around 6% of U.S. homes face severe or extreme flood risk, 6% face severe wildfire risk, and 18% are at severe risk of hurricane-strength winds. Insurance markets are already under stress due to these events, which erodes affordability and availability. According to the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office, homeowners’ insurance premiums from 2018-2022 rose 8.7% faster than inflation, with the steepest increases concentrated in climate-exposed zip codes. In highrisk areas, annual premiums average 82% higher than in low-risk areas. Because of rising losses, many insurers are pulling out of high-risk geographies entirely or sharply reducing coverage. As a result, millions of homeowners face soaring premiums, non-renewals, limited coverage, and increased reliance on last-resort, state-run insurance pools. Even greater financial risk may lie ahead. Home and flood insurance are typically written on annual terms, covering risk only for the year ahead rather than the life of a mortgage. As climate risks increase, homeowners may face sharply rising premiums or reduced availability of coverage. Because mortgage agreements generally require borrowers to maintain adequate insurance, these changes could create significant financial strain and, in some cases, place borrowers at risk of default. Despite this clear mismatch between short-term insurance and long-term mortgages, the risk is rarely disclosed to homebuyers at the time of purchase. Homebuyers are left vulnerable in this situation, as public policy and preparedness lag. Despite mounting data on climate-driven damage, many homebuyers and renters remain unaware of their immediate exposure, let alone their longer-term exposure, largely because real-estate platforms and MLS systems often do not disclose climate risk. While there is still room for improvement in climate risk scoring systems, the best available data will help prospective homeowners and renters properly evaluate the long-term costs and hazards associated with a given property, strengthening their ability to make a sound investment. We are alarmed at reports of pressure against entities providing such information, since doing so diminishes the public’s ability to make informed choices and undermines resilience in vulnerable communities. As climate change intensifies, it is vital to ensure transparency in real estate transactions, now and in the future. We respectfully request your answers to the following questions by June 1, 2026: Is your company committed to providing homebuyers with the best available information on the climate-related risks affecting a prospective property? What data sources does your company rely on to assess climate-related risks at the property level? How is this information conveyed to prospective homebuyers? What feedback trends have you observed from homebuyers in response to this information? We welcome the opportunity to engage further on how your company can continue to support informed decision-making and strengthen community resilience in the face of growing climate risks. Sincerely, ### Print Email Share Tweet