Climate Risks for Real Estate – Guides, Analyses, and Decision-Making Resources

Climate Risks for Real Estate

Climate change is already affecting real estate, infrastructure, and urban planning. For property owners, banks, insurance companies, investors, and public sector actors, there is a growing need to understand and manage physical climate risks.

Here, we compile knowledge, analyses, and decision-making resources on how geographic risks such as flooding, erosion, landslides, and rockfalls can affect real estate and businesses.

What’s Happening Now

• Breakfast seminar on physical climate risks in the bank’s risk management
• Report: Climate Risks for Real Estate in Sweden
• New analyses and articles are published on an ongoing basis

What are physical climate risks?

Physical climate risks are risks that arise when climate change affects land, water, buildings, and infrastructure. Examples include rising sea levels, torrential rain, flooding, erosion, landslides, and mudslides.

These risks vary depending on geographic location, soil conditions, and the design of the built environment.

Understanding the risk landscape often requires a combination of property information, geodata, and geographic analyses.

Common climate risks for properties

Flooding

Torrential rain, high water flows, and rising sea levels can affect both properties and infrastructure.

Erosion

Changing water levels and increased precipitation can lead to erosion that affects soil stability.

Landslides and landslips

Some areas are more susceptible to ground movements than others, especially in combination with changing climate conditions.

Changing soil conditions

Increased precipitation and changes in groundwater levels can affect buildings and infrastructure over time.

Why are climate risks important?

Physical climate risks are influencing an increasing number of decisions related to:

• real estate investments
• lending
• insurance
• urban planning
• property management
• sustainability efforts

For many organizations, it’s a matter of understanding which properties are affected, the extent of the exposure, and what measures can be taken to mitigate the risks.

How is geographic decision support used?

Geographic analyses make it possible to identify risks at the property level and analyze larger real estate portfolios.

Using geodata and property information, organizations can:

• map exposure to various climate risks
• identify particularly vulnerable areas
• prioritize actions
• strengthen risk management and decision-making

Further Reading

Report: Climate Risks for Real Estate in Sweden

Guide:

• How are climate risks for real estate analyzed?

• Climate Risk Analysis Using Geodata

Article: Metria Strengthens Climate Risk Assessment Through Membership in the Credit Association

Article: Flood Risk—How Can Geodata Identify High-Risk Areas?

Article: Climate Risk and Real Estate Valuation—How Credit Risk Is Affected in the Long Term

Article: Flood risk from waterways and blue spots—what should be included in the valuation model?

Seminars and events:

Free breakfast seminar: Physical climate risks—from geodata to better risk decisions

Related solutions

Climate Analysis: Identify and analyze climate risks for properties and geographic areas.

Property Information Quality-assured property data for analysis and decision-making.

Banking, Finance, and Insurance: Real estate data and geographic analyses for risk management and credit processes.

Sustainability with Geodata and Real Estate Data

Metria combines geodata, property information, and analysis to create concrete decision-making tools for sustainability

Why Metria?

Metria combines real estate information, geodata, and geographic analyses to create decision-making tools that help organizations understand and manage climate risks.

With extensive experience in geographic information and analysis, we support banks, insurance companies, property owners, municipalities, and other organizations that need to make well-informed decisions in a changing world.