Smokey Bear says only you can prevent forest fires. Now Realtor.com is offering to help you predict if one will start near your home or one you are considering buying.
The real estate listings website announced on Monday that it's the first major real estate site to add property-specific wild fire risk information to for-sale and off-market homes free of cost.
Listings will now include a “Fire Factor” rating from First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research and technology group, as well as information from the USDA Forest Service.
The “Fire Factor” rating shows the risk by individual property over a 30-year period, while the forest service lists the risk by county.
According to Realtor.com, 20% of homes in the U.S. with a value of $8.8 trillion, are at risk from wildfire damage, while an additional one-third of homes, with a value $12.6 trillion, face minor damage from wildfires.
With wildfires on the rise, the company said it’s important for homeowners and potential buyers to understand the risks, see fire risk potential for individual properties, and learn steps they can take to mitigate those risks.
According to a recent survey from Realtor.com and HarrisX, 71% of recent homebuyers took natural disasters into account when considering where to move. Additionally, just under half (47%) of recent buyers are more concerned about natural disasters today than they were five years ago.
“Realtor.com was the first real estate site to display flood risk data on home listings and maps, which consumers have found to be extremely helpful in the buying process. As the likelihood of natural disasters like wildfire and flood increase, we want to provide as much information as possible for families to make informed decisions about where to live and how to protect their homes,” said Sara Brinton, lead product manager for Realtor.com. “By integrating wildfire risk data directly into maps and property listings, we can help homebuyers feel confident when making one of the biggest purchases of their lives.”
Company officials said wildfire risk data will also be coming soon to rental properties.
