According to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q4 2019 Opportunity Zones Report released this week, analyzing qualified Opportunity Zones established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs act of 2017, about half the zones included in the analysis, saw median home prices rise more than the national increase of 9.4 percent from Q4 2018 to Q4 2019.
The report also shows that 78 percent of the zones included in the analysis had median home prices in Q4 2019 that were less than the national median of $257,000. Some 48 percent of the zones had median prices of less than $150,000.
ATTOM’s latest opportunity zones report is the third special report analyzing qualified Opportunity Zones. In the Q4 report, ATTOM looked at about 3,700 zones with sufficient sales data to analyze, meaning they had at least five home sales in each quarter from 2005 through Q4 2019.
One of the high-level findings from the report stated that median prices rose from Q4 2018 to Q4 2019 in 66 percent of the Opportunity Zones, while in 34 percent of zones, they declined or stayed the same. Another high-level finding stated that median prices in 47 percent of Opportunity Zones rose year-over-year more than values increased nationally (9.4 percent).
According to ATTOM’s report, in 20 states, year-over-year median price increases in at least half the Opportunity Zones beat the national 9.4 percent figure. Those with the most such zones were Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio and New Jersey.
Of the zones analyzed, 1,776 (48 percent) had a median price of less than $150,000 in Q4 2019, and 594 (16 percent) had medians ranging from $150,000 to $199,999. Another 529 (14 percent) ranged from $200,000 up to the national median price of $257,000, while 817 (22 percent) were more than $257,000.
Within the states seeing the largest median price increases in opportunity zones in Q4 2019, the top 10 zones with MSA median prices above the national median price of $257,000 included: 37101040301-Johnston County, NC (102.0 percent); 04013106003-Maricopa County, AZ (97.1 percent); 34013018300-Essex County, NJ (95.5 percent); 34037371200-Sussex County, NJ (88.4 percent); 34031182302-Passaic County, NJ (88.2 percent); 04025000900-Yavapai County, AZ (68.0 percent); 34013018900-Essex County, NJ (52.1 percent); 04021001500-Pinal County, AZ (49.6 percent); 34017006800-Hudson County, NJ (48.5 percent); and 04021000700-Pinal County, AZ (48.0 percent).
Also according to the report, states with the highest percentage of census tracts meeting Opportunity Zone requirements included Wyoming (17 percent), Mississippi (15 percent), Alabama (13 percent), North Dakota (12 percent) and New Mexico (12 percent). Washington, DC, was also among the leaders (14 percent). Nationwide, 10 percent of all tracts qualify.
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