Realtor.com® Helps Home Shoppers Understand a Property's Flood Risk

For-sale and off-market properties across the contiguous U.S. now include Flood Facto(TM) from First Street Foundation and FEMA flood data

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realtor.com

Aug 26, 2020, 05:00 ET

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- To help consumers better understand flood risk and take necessary precautions, realtor.com^®now includes flood risk information on for-sale and off-market properties. Properties now display a Flood Factor^™ from First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research and technology group, which is a score between one and 10 that represents its cumulative risk of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. Properties also display their FEMA Flood Zone, providing realtor.com^® users with a comprehensive understanding of their flood risk.

Flood risk data is now available on realtor.com.

This first-of-its-kind data integration on realtor.com^® will give home shoppers and homeowners easy access to previously hard-to-find information about flood risk. Users can also drill down for additional details on past, present and future risk, and explore the interactive flood map.

"Historically, determining a property's flood risk was an onerous process -- in some cases, potential buyers would have no idea a property was in a flood zone until it was flagged by the mortgage company prior to closing, or in some cases not at all," said Leslie Jordan, senior vice president of product, realtor.com^®. "By surfacing this information upfront, consumers can avoid surprises and have all the information they need to make informed decisions and feel confident about the home buying process."

First Street Foundation has developed the industry's most comprehensive, climate adjusted flood risk model, assessing flood risk at the individual property level today and in the future throughout the continental U.S. The model incorporates local adaptation, includes areas not currently mapped by FEMA, and assesses risk from four types of flooding events, including riverine, rainfall, storm surge, and tidal sources. The model addresses the reality that these sources have been, and continue to be, impacted in different ways by a changing environment. The First Street Foundation Flood Model was produced in partnership with more than 80 of the world's leading hydrologists, researchers and data scientists and has been reviewed by some of the world's leading research institutions.

FEMA Flood Maps are the official public source for flood hazard information produced in support of the National Flood Insurance Program. A property that is in a Special Flood Hazard Area is identified as having flood, mudflow or flood-related erosion hazards and requires mandatory purchase of flood insurance. In order to make the most informed decisions, home shoppers should consider multiple sources of data and have a discussion with their real estate agent.

"Integrating Flood Factor on realtor.com^® provides millions of current and future homeowners with a comprehensive, accessible understanding of a property's flood risk due to a changing environment over the life of a 30-year mortgage," said Matthew Eby, executive director of First Street Foundation. "By democratizing access to this information, First Street Foundation is helping homeowners protect what is likely their largest, most valuable asset: their home."

Realtor.com^® aims to provide consumers with as much information as possible so they can feel confident in their real estate decisions. By better understanding a property's risk of flood, homeowners can protect their home with flood insurance and other precautionary measures.

Realtor.com^®'s new flood data can help reduce flood-related surprises at the closing table. Agents and brokers can use this valuable information to provide additional context, guidance and insights to the buyers and sellers they work with. Professionals can use both the FEMA and Flood Factor™ data on realtor.com^® to help reduce the number of clients who buy high-risk properties by surprise or list properties before mitigating the risk by helping their buyer and seller clients perform due diligence and increase confidence in real estate markets, particularly where FEMA does not currently map.

Flood risk data is now available on realtor.com^® web, mobile web, iOS and Android apps. For more information on Flood Factor and a free online flood data visualization, visit floodfactor.com.

About realtor.com^®Realtor.com^® makes buying, selling and living in homes easier and more rewarding for everyone. Realtor.com^® pioneered the world of digital real estate 20 years ago, and today through its website and mobile apps is a trusted source for the information, tools and professional expertise that help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. Using proprietary data science and machine learning technology, realtor.com^® pairs buyers and sellers with local agents in their market, helping take the guesswork out of buying and selling a home. For professionals, realtor.com^® is a trusted provider of consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS^®. For more information, visit realtor.com^®.