There are signs that Americans may be taking climate change, or at least natural disasters many scientists attribute to climate change, more seriously—at least when it comes to buying a house, Bloomberg reports.
Between 2007 and 2017, average home prices in areas facing the lowest risk of flooding, hurricanes and wildfires have far outpaced those with the greatest risk, according to figures compiled by Attom Data Solutions, a curator of national property data.
Homes in areas most exposed to flood and hurricane risk were worth less last year, on average, than a decade earlier.
Attom Data looked at the annual change in home prices and sales across 3,397 cities around the country, then divided those cities into five groups based on their exposure to various types of natural disasters. What they found suggests the threats of climate change are beginning to register.
On average, home prices across the cities analyzed by Attom Data increased 7.3% between 2007 and 2017. But that figure masks deep drops in vulnerable areas.
The data suggest the relationship between climate risk and home prices isn’t always a straight line. That’s because home buyers have to weigh the risk of disasters against the so-called amenity value of living near water or at the edge of the forest, according to Carolyn Kousky, director for policy research for the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the Wharton School.
