Zillow is no longer including flood, fire, and other climate risk data on home listings. It first added that information last year but has now removed it after objections from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service.

In a statement, Zillow said it made the change to, “adhere to varying MLS requirements.”

In the decade Joanna Jimenez has been working as a realtor with Compass in Miami, buyers’ concern about climate risk has really varied.  

“For example, there were a few years ago we had hurricanes, we had some flood issues, people were asking more questions then,” Jimenez said.

Lately not so much. But when Zillow, Realtor, and Redfin added climate risk to listings, she said that had an impact, too.

“These websites were putting big, scary warnings on homes — high flood risk, high climate risk — and we have had clients in the past tell us that they are not interested in seeing properties because of those labels,” Jimenez said.

A study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research found buyers who see flood risk data on listings are more likely to look for homes with lower risk.

“We found that that, you know, significantly impacted on the tours that they took, because they weren't looking at high flood risk homes anymore, and it affected where they ultimately made an offer,” said Robert Metcalfe at Columbia University, who worked on the study.

Buyers who saw flood risk information were much less likely to make an offer on a high-risk home than those who didn’t. Matthew Eby, founder of the nonprofit First Street, said without easy access to that data, “They're now going to be making the biggest financial decision of their lives while flying blind to these types of risks.”

Zillow will still include a link to a First Street’s site where people can go look up climate data if they want, though doing so requires that extra step.

“It just adds a barrier that wasn't there before. When the data was there front and center it just made it more accessible to folks,” said Eby.

Now, Eby said it’ll be easier for people to miss the information.