The Transmission of Climate Hazard Exposure to Equity Risk: Evidence From Real Estate Firms

Bing Zhu & Franz Fuerst

Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics2026https://doi.org/10.1007/s11146-026-10046-xarticle
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Climate-related hazard exposure is hypothesized to increase systematic risk (market beta) for firms reliant on physical assets. Using data on the asset locations of 141 public real estate firms from 2002 to 2021, along with expected annual loss ratios for eleven types of weather hazards at the ZIP Code level, this paper finds that exposure to such hazards increases real estate firms’ market beta by elevating debt costs, earnings volatility, and capital expenditures associated with weather-related disasters. Climate risk is thus priced into equity returns via elevated firm-level beta. To mitigate such risks, firms and investors may consider increasing sustainable assets, enhancing ESG performance, monitoring public sentiment, and leveraging transparent climate reporting.

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11146-026-10046-x

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{bing2026,
  title        = {{The Transmission of Climate Hazard Exposure to Equity Risk: Evidence From Real Estate Firms}},
  author       = {Bing Zhu & Franz Fuerst},
  journal      = {Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11146-026-10046-x},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

The Transmission of Climate Hazard Exposure to Equity Risk: Evidence From Real Estate Firms

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.


Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.