Zillow Is Making Some Sellers Very Unhappy

The real estate platform's climate-risk scores show nearly 13 percent of all new listings are at risk of major flooding.

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:    

• A new study in Germany suggests four-day workweeks produce results.

• Restaurant owners seem to be winning a hotly contested battle over tipped wages.

• Despite the inflation, the uncertainty, and the election, surveys indicate business owners are pretty optimistic.

REAL ESTATE

Not everyone is happy that Zillow has added climate-risk scores to its listings: “This Revere home — a four-bedroom with second-floor water views for less than $500,000 — is just waiting for the right buyer. Or how about the two-bedroom, two-bath in Haverhill, located near a ‘serene riverfront’ and boasting a stunning yellow Southern pine ceiling? Or what about this cozy three-bedroom seasonal home in Humarock — a short stroll from the river and the beach, ‘an oasis for relaxation and fun’? They all sound like the kind of homes people dream about owning — or, maybe, are a nightmare to own, if you read on to see what else Zillow has to say about the properties: They all are at severe or extreme risk of flooding, based on a new climate risk assessment the popular real estate site has recently added to its listing of properties for sale.”

• “The risk scores affect an enormous number of properties in Massachusetts: more than 150,000, and nationwide, nearly 13 percent of new listings on Zillow are now assessed as being at major risk of flooding. ‘That’s the reality of climate change to housing, and that’s why this information is so important,’ said Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow.”

• “Zillow is relying on data from First Street, the climate risk financial modeling firm, using a 1-10 score for the risk of flood, fire, wind, poor air quality, and heat. With sea levels around coastal Massachusetts 14 inches higher than a century ago, the biggest risk to properties appears to be flooding, both along the coast and inland near rivers.”

• “‘It’s putting thoughts in people’s minds about my listing that normally wouldn’t be there,’ said Dorothy McLaughlin, a Hingham-based real estate agent representing the seller of the Revere four-bedroom. The property is several blocks in from the shoreline and behind MBTA tracks and already requires flood insurance. But in McLaughlin’s opinion, it’s unlikely that the water would ever reach the home. ‘How do you know what the climate is going to be in 35 years?’ she said.” READ MORE