Overview
- A joint report published in mid‑July by the American Energy Institute and Consumers’ Research names First Street as a main vendor supplying property‑level climate scores that appear on major listing sites.
- The report documents a $6.2 million case in which a home designated FEMA Zone X received a 9/10 private flood score and then saw buyer interest and price collapse, which advocates say shows market harm from opaque ratings.
- Those private scores often diverge from FEMA flood maps because vendors use proprietary models and longer‑term exposure assumptions, and homeowners have no clear way to see methods or appeal ratings.
- Platforms have responded unevenly: Zillow removed numeric property‑level scores from live listings while still linking to external data, and Redfin says it will continue to display on‑page climate information.
- Report authors and commentators point to reported minority ownership stakes by BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street in parent companies that distribute the scores and are urging Congress to require transparency, independent oversight, and homeowner appeal rights.