Originally published on August 14, 2024, by Juan Pablo Quintero for UrbanLand Magazine. 

Real estate investors recognize the need to incorporate physical climate risks—including wildfires, hurricanes, and excessive heat—into their business models as the prevalence and severity of extreme weather events increases. Climate-risk analytics tools have proliferated in recent years to help investors assess, price, and mitigate these physical climate risks. Investors have welcomed these tools but face challenges selecting the right provider—or providers—to meet their business needs.

“Climate-risk analytic providers offer valuable insights to help real estate [investors] assess these risks; however, the data can’t be taken at face value,” said Lindsay Brugger, ULI’s VP of Urban Resilience. “Investment managers need to understand the inputs behind the data to effectively act on the information.”