Value of Homes in Areas With High Environmental Risk Hits $3.4 Trillion

Housing

Published: March 4, 2018 6:43 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:47 am

The total value of homes in areas which have high environmental risk reached $3.4 trillion last year. This includes risk for four environmental hazards: superfund sites, brownfields, polluters and poor air quality. The data are from real estate research form ATTOM.

Interestingly, the value of these homes has risen faster than homes which are not in such areas. The firm reports:

… that its 2017 Environmental Hazards Housing Risk Index shows that median home prices in U.S. zip codes in the highest 20 percent for environmental hazard risk appreciated at a faster pace than the overall U.S housing market over the past year, past five years and past 10 years.

The firm’s management added:

Median home prices in zip codes in the top environmental hazard risk quintile increased 7.4 percent from a year ago on average (compared to 7.1 percent increase nationwide); increased 57.1 percent from 2012 (compared to 51.1 percent increase nationwide); and increased 22.2 percent from 2007 (compared to 12.3 percent increase nationwide).

And, also counterintuitively:

Home foreclosure rates in zip codes in the highest quintile for environmental hazard risk were slightly lower at 0.3 percent of all homes with a mortgage than in the overall market — 0.4 percent.

As for the cities and regions included:

Markets with the most combined value of homes in zip codes in the top quintile for environmental hazard risk were Houston, Texas ($415 billion); Riverside-San Bernardino, California ($344 billion); Portland, Oregon ($254 billion); Washington, D.C. ($161 billion); and Chicago, Illinois ($134 billion).

In sum:

Zip codes with the 10 highest total Environmental Hazard Housing Risk Index values in 2017 were in Denver, Southern California, Portland, St. Louis, Burlington, North Carolina, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Houston.

Zip Code	City	State	Overall Risk Index	2017 Median Sales Prices	1-Year HPA	5-Year HPA	10-Year HPA	Foreclosure Rate
80216	Denver	CO	497	$250,000	11%	233%	194%	0.14%
92408	San Bernardino	CA	482	$216,000	8%	101%	-34%	0.18%
97378	Sheridan	OR	373	$176,900	10%	66%	13%	0.17%
63133	Saint Louis	MO	351	$20,500	21%	31%	-59%	0.18%
27258	Haw River	NC	331	$163,250	2%	52%	66%	0.17%
92501	Riverside	CA	326	$325,000	10%	97%	-12%	0.46%
90670	Santa Fe Springs	CA	320	$444,250	2%	56%	-6%	0.38%
74108	Tulsa	OK	319	$75,000	9%	7%	-6%	0.22%
74119	Tulsa	OK	287	$115,000	-3%	26%	63%	0.00%
77042	Houston	TX	285	$381,500	11%	216%	129%	0.01%

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