Median

prices
for
homes
and
condominiums
in
federally
designated

opportunity
zones
rose
in
49%
of
areas
from
fourth-quarter 2023
to
first-quarter
2024,
according
to
a
report
released
Thursday
by


Attom. 

On
a
year-over-year
basis,
however,
prices
increased
in
nearly
two-thirds
of
these
zones.
Attom
analyzed
3,512
zones
with
sufficient
data,
defined
as
having
at
least
five
home
sales
in
Q1
2024.

The
Tax
Cuts
and
Jobs
Act
of
2017 defines
opportunity
zones
as
census
tracts
in
or
alongside
low-income
neighborhoods
that
meet
various
criteria
for
redevelopment
in
all
50
states,
the
District
of
Columbia
and
U.S.
territories.

These
areas
have
shown
a
pattern
of
home
values
that
track national
trends
over
the
past
three
years.
The
Q1
2024
data
indicated
price
declines
in
the
lowest-priced
areas,
highlighting
potential
challenges.
Nonetheless,
the
overall
trend
suggests
economic
resilience
in
these
distressed
communities
compared
to
broader
markets,
even
as
the
decade-long
housing
boom
slows.

For
instance,
opportunity
zones outperformed
the
national
market
in
terms
of
price
growth,
with
60%
of
zones
seeing
annualized
gains
that
exceeded
the
U.S.
average
of
3.1%
appreciation
from
Q1
2023
to
Q1
2024.
A
similar
pattern
occurred
on
a
quarterly
basis. 

“Home
prices
still
lag
far
behind
national
numbers,
but
gains
and
losses
mostly
keep
tracking
overall
market
patterns,”
Rob
Barber,
CEO
of
Attom,
said
in
a
statement.
“Clearly,
there
are
exceptions,
especially
at
the
lowest
end
of
the
price
scale.
Nevertheless,
the
latest
data
shows
Opportunity
Zone
housing
markets
continuing
to
attract
considerable
interest
among
home
buyers
pushed
out
of
higher-priced
areas
in
a
market
with
very
limited
supplies
of
homes
for
sale. 

“That
again
points
to
the
kind
of
economic
viability
needed
to
lure
investors
who
may
want
to
take
advantage
of
the
redevelopment
incentives
aimed
at
revitalizing
those
communities.”

In
Q1
2024,
78%
of
opportunity
zones had
median
home
prices
below
the
U.S.
median
of
$330,000,
consistent
with
trends
over
the
past
three
years.
About
half
of
the
zones
had
median
prices
below
$200,000.

Among
states
that
had 
at
least
25
zones
with
enough
data
to
analyze,

Kentucky
led
the
way
with
65%
of
zones
seeing
quarterly
price
increases.
It
was
followed
by
New
Jersey
(58%),
Tennessee
(56%),
Arizona
(56%)
and
Minnesota
(56%). 

Meanwhile,
states
with
the
smallest
share
of
zones
with
quarterly
price
increases
included
Utah
(38%),
New
York
(42%),
Virginia
(42%),
South
Carolina
(42%),
and
Alabama
(44%).

Year
over
year,

New
Jersey
saw
the
highest
share
of
zones
with
price
increases
(91%),
followed
by
Wisconsin
(75%),
Kentucky
(70%),
Minnesota
(70%)
and
Illinois
(70%).

Of
the
3,512
zones
studied,
34%
had
median
prices
below
$150,000
in
Q1
2024,
down
from
38%
a
year
earlier.
Another
16%
had
median
prices
between
$150,000
and
$199,999.

At
a
regional
level,
the 
Midwest
had
the
highest
proportion
of
low-priced
zones,
with
67%
having
median
prices
below 
$175,000.
It
was
followed
by
the
Northeast
(47%),
the
South
(42%),
and
the
West
(6%).

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