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The Cotality report gives loan officers another reason to bring insurance and property-risk questions into the file earlier, especially in western markets.
Cotality’s 2026 Wildfire Risk Report says more than 2.5 million properties across the 10 most exposed western states face a moderate or greater risk of wildfire damage, representing nearly $1.4 trillion in reconstruction cost value, according to HousingWire’s Aug. 12, 2026 report. For anyone watching wildfire risk mortgage lending, the headline is not just the size of the exposure — it is how quickly property risk can become an insurance, qualification, and closing conversation.
The report involves Cotality, the property data and analytics firm, and focuses on wildfire exposure across western states. HousingWire’s summary does not confirm the specific states, county-level concentrations, or methodology details, but the numbers are large enough that loan officers in affected markets should be thinking about borrower education before the insurance binder becomes a last-minute problem.