Wildfire Risk Harms California Home Values, San Francisco Fed Study Finds

Firefighters with fire in background

Acres burned and number of homes damaged increased recently and insurance access doesn’t seem to help high-risk properties.

August 26, 2024
Laura Curtis - Bloomberg

California’s wildfires are weighing on home prices more than in the past, and insurance availability does little to help in areas considered to be at higher risk, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco study.

“Our results suggest that property values have been more adversely impacted in recent years by being close to past wildfires than was the case previously,” economists Leila Bengali, Fernanda Nechio and Stephanie Stewart wrote in a paper published Monday on the Fed bank’s website.

While the effect of the proximity may be relatively small now, the economists warned “this pattern may become stronger in years to come if residential construction continues to expand into areas with higher fire risk and if trends in wildfire severity continue,” the study cautioned.


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