Vacation homes sit on a bluff overlooking Buzzards Bay in Westport. While coastal flooding from hurricanes has dominated much of the conversation about flood risks, inland flooding from severe weather made worse by climate change has emerged as a relatively uncharted risk. iStock photo

Older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to buy homes in places with significant climate risk. according to a new report from Redfin.

Redfin economists analyzing housing data found 36.9 percent of home purchases made by people 65 and older last year were in counties with high risk of extreme heat. while 32.3 percent of home purchases made by people under 35 contained extreme heat risk.

Additionally, 13.3 percent of purchases made by people 65 years and older were in counties with a high risk of flooding, compared with 9.8 percent of purchases by those under 35 years old.

The study found 96.2 percent of homes face high heat risk in the counties where 65 and older buyers took out the largest share of mortgages last year, on average according to Redfin. That compares to 59.2 percent of homes in the counties where buyers under 35 took out the largest share of mortgages.

Redfin’s report credited the risky buying to the locations where older individuals tend to retire. For example, Arizona is a retirement hot spot but is prone to extreme heat. Younger homebuyers are described as gravitating towards job centers such as Boston or Chicago.

“Retirees understand the risks of moving to Florida, but many believe the pros still outweigh the cons,” Rafael Corrales, a Redfin real estate agent, said in a statement. “When I explain to buyers that they can get more bang for their buck and lower flood risk a little further inland, they often tell me, ‘Rafael, we came to Florida for the waterfront views.’”

In Suffolk County, 100 percent of homes contain a high heat risk according to the analysis of First Street climate risk scores along with HMDA data. Additionally, 22 percent of homes contain a high-flood risk.