Austin Business Journal shares, "A substantial number of real estate agents believe climate change is affecting homebuyer decisions, and the impact is getting stronger in certain parts of the country.
Among real estate agents surveyed in real estate firm Redfin Corp.'s 2025 Industry Survey, 39% of the respondents said they believe climate change is impacting to at least some degree consumer choices about where to live and what homes to buy. That total included 13.2% who “completely agree” that climate change was impacting choices, and 25.8% who “somewhat agree.”
The 39% total is more than the 35.8% who "somewhat disagree" or "completely disagree." The balance of the respondents did not offer an opinion on the topic.
The number of respondents who responded favorably also varied by geography.
In Florida, 26.8% of agents completely agreed that climate change was impacting home searches and 28.6% somewhat agreed, for a total of 55.4%. That compares to 28.6% who completely or somewhat disagreed.
In California, 51.1% of agents completely agreed or somewhat agreed, compared to 28.9% who completely disagreed or somewhat disagreed.
Over the past 12 months, 4.8% of all agents surveyed said clients had “significantly more” climate and weather-related concerns compared to the previous 12 months, while 13.6% said clients had “somewhat more” concerns. Those numbers were far higher in Florida, at 13.7% and 31.4%, respectively.
Similarly, 9.4% of all agents said their brokerage offered some kind of training related to climate and weather risks, with that number rising to 12.5% in Florida and 13.3% in California.
The Redfin survey is the latest in a series of surveys and data points that shows growing concern over climate change and its potential impact on the housing market. From the worsening home-insurance crisis that has impacted many states to more-frequent natural disasters, more buyers and owners are spending time, energy and money on issues related to climate change.
Climate risk data firm First Street estimated that by 2055, more than 70,000 neighborhoods across the country may see property values decline or grow more slowly because of the impacts of climate change, wiping out $1.47 trillion in total housing value.
In a LendingTree survey in 2024, 51% of homeowners said they were worried about how climate-change-related hazards would impact their homes, while 25% said they worried that climate-change impacts would hurt property values. In areas of the country LendingTree considered “at risk,” 34% of homeowners said they have considered moving. Additionally, 72% of homeowners think climate-change risks should be disclosed by the seller or real estate agent when buying a home.
A Zillow survey in 2023 found that 80% of homebuyers consider climate risks as they shop. Major real estate listing services have, in recent years, added climate-risk scores and weather-related scores to home listings.
A PolicyGenius survey found that 18% of homeowners would not consider moving to Florida, California, Texas or Louisiana because of high home-insurance costs from climate change.
Housing market has been tough for agents, buyers
Median home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, from $327,100 in the fourth quarter of 2019 to $442,600 in the fourth quarter of 2022 — a 35% increase, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Since then, sale prices have largely leveled off, with the median price standing at $419,200 in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The tough market for buyers also has been tough for agents. By the end of 2024, the number of full-time real estate agents and brokers dropped to its lowest point in more than a decade.
In 2019, there were about 543,000 full-time real estate agents and brokers nationwide, according to data gathered by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. After a slight dip in 2020, there were 524,000 brokers and agents in 2021 and 512,000 in 2022. In 2023, that number dropped to 440,000, then to 398,000 in 2024.
The last time the number of full-time agents and brokers was that low was in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve data. During the height of the housing boom in the run-up to the financial crisis, the total number of agents and brokers was about 504,000.
Some experts attribute the recent decline in agents in part to the $418 million court settlement in March 2024 involving the National Association of Realtors. The settlement came in response to a wave of class-action lawsuits in which plaintiffs charged the NAR’s "participation rule" and "cooperative compensation" practices unfairly forced home sellers to pay inflated commissions to buyer agents. Plaintiffs argued a complex network of rules kept buyer-broker commissions high and essentially mandated the seller offer buyer commissions.
The NAR, as part of its settlement, agreed to a series of internal changes that took effect in August. Those steps include sellers no longer being able to make offers of buyer-broker commissions on any Multiple Listing Service the NAR owns, although they can still make commission offers on other websites and through negotiations.
Meanwhile, the overall share of buyers' agent commissions has shifted — but not by much. Data from Redfin indicates the average buyers' agent commission was 2.37% for homes sold in the fourth quarter, largely unchanged from 2.36% in the third quarter but down from 2.45% in the fourth quarter of 2023."
Source: Austin Business Journal
Written by: Andy Medici
Published: April 21, 2025
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
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