On August 26, 2020, realtor.com® began displaying flood risk information on for-sale properties in all markets across the United States. Consumers can now access comprehensive flood map data from two sources – FEMA and the nonprofit First Street Foundation – and search for homes based on a risk rating between 1 (minimal risk) and 10 (extreme risk).

Why this is important:

  1. NAR policy supports realtor.com®’s decision to promote full transparency, disclosure and mapping of the flood risk for better informed real estate decisions.
  2. Before, the risk data shown was not readily available for most properties or disclosed too late for many low-risk-tolerance buyers to avoid high-risk home purchases, resulting in flood-related lawsuits and undermining overall confidence in real estate markets.
  3. Now by displaying flood data upfront on listings, realtor.com® can help consumers and their agents avoid closing-table surprises, manage client expectations and reduce exposure while increasing confidence in home purchases and real estate markets more generally.

NAR has developed the following comprehensive packet of educational information for NAR members to talk with customers about the Flood Factor™ data:

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