Close to half of America's homeowners are "considering moving" this year, according to the Independent, but not to access better schools or even for career opportunities.
That detail emerged from a survey conducted by home insurer Kin Insurance in its yearly homeownership trends report.
As Kin observed — and Yahoo Finance reported Monday — home prices and interest rates remain high, creating market conditions that aren't exactly the sort linked to record home sales.
However, 49% of 1,000 homeowners surveyed are weighing housing market volatility against the rapidly escalating problem of extreme weather, a direct result of rising temperatures worldwide.
As the Independent observed, while Americans were largely spared severe hurricanes in 2025, the year began with deadly, devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Extreme heat wracked much of the country as summer set in, and flash floods claimed more than 100 lives in Texas.
The fact that one in two homeowners, which Kin Insurance described as a "surprisingly high percentage" of respondents, was motivated to consider a move underscored the gravity and immediacy of the extreme weather crisis.
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Although it can be easy to confuse "severe weather" with "extreme weather," the latter is a distinct, novel phenomenon. Hurricanes, floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires have always been a part of Earth's weather systems, but an overheating planet supercharges them.
All of these weather patterns will continue apace, but as we've seen in recent extreme weather events, they've become more destructive, less predictable, deadlier, and costlier.
On Monday, Kin Insurance issued a press release introducing its findings, including another startling statistic: 45% of American homeowners said they weren't considering a move, meaning those thinking about it outnumbered them.
"Kin uncovered that climate is driving decisions about where people live and the rising costs of homeownership are changing when and how people buy homes," the release observed.
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I can hardly afford my bills now 😮💨 As a home insurance firm, Kin is at the forefront of the issue, but its survey showed that Americans are increasingly aware of climate risks such as extreme weather.
A full 93% of respondents admitted they feared "damage to their home in the next two to three years," citing rising temperatures and unpredictable weather, while a further 68% believed extreme weather events in 2026 would be worse than those in 2025.
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