Are Opportunity Zones Living Up to Their Promise?

August 8, 2025 Demetria C. Lester

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017’s qualifying low-income Opportunity Zones that Congress designated for economic rehabilitation have been examined in ATTOM’s second-quarter 2025 report. In this study, ATTOM examined 3,838 U.S. zones that had at least five home sales in the second quarter of 2025 and had enough data to evaluate.

According to the analysis, in 57% of Opportunity Zones nationwide with sufficient data to measure, median prices for single-family homes and condos rose between the first and second quarters of 2025. The median property values in 50.5% of Opportunity Zone census tracts increased over the same period previous year. Home values increased in 56% of census tracts outside of Opportunity Zones, which was a lower percentage than the national average.

Approximately 8.4% of Opportunity Zones achieved their highest median prices since at least 2008, while the nation as a whole saw record-high home prices in the second quarter of 2025. Additionally, median property values in 39% of Opportunity Zones with enough data to evaluate increased by 10% or more per year.

Key Findings — National

Major findings from the report:

  • Median prices of single-family homes and condos rose from the first to the second quarter of 2025 in 57.3% (1,813) of the 3,162 Opportunity Zone census tracts with sufficient data to analyze in both quarters. Year-over-year, median values rose in 50.5% (1,938) of the 3,432 Opportunity Zone census tracts with sufficient data.
  • Home prices rose annually in a smaller share (50.5%) of Opportunity Zone census tracts compared to the 56% of tracts located outside the zones that saw median prices increase.
  • A larger share of Opportunity Zones tracts saw median prices grow by 10% or more annually: 39% of tracts inside the zones compared to 32% of tracts outside the zones.
  • The areas with the lowest home values saw the most sluggish growth, with only 39% (289) of the 742 Opportunity Zone census tracts where median sales prices were below $125,000 seeing any increase in prices year-over-year.
  • The Midwest saw the strongest growth among its Opportunity Zones. Among states with at least 25 Opportunity Zones that had sufficient data to analyze in the second quarter of 2025, Wisconsin had the highest share where median home prices grew year-over-year (medians up from the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2025 in 68% of zones), followed by Indiana (65%), Iowa (65%), Michigan (64%), and Missouri (59 %).
  • Home prices in most Opportunity Zones are well below those outside of them. About half of Opportunity Zone census tracts had median home prices below $225,000 in the second quarter of 2025 while the national median home price was $369,000.
  • The majority (54 percent) of Midwestern Opportunity Zone census tracts had median home prices below $175,000, compared to the Northeast (38%), the South (36%), and the West (6%).

While prices increased in comparable shares of Opportunity Zone census tracts in the mid- and high-priced zones, price growth was slower in Opportunity Zones with the lowest median house sales prices.

“Home values in most Opportunity Zones continue to move in step with the broader market—a pattern we’ve tracked since we began studying this segment,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “Drill down, though, and volatility persists, especially in the lowest-priced neighborhoods. Limited inventory nationwide is still driving prices higher and nudging marginal buyers toward areas with deeper economic challenges.”

In all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, census tracts in or next to low-income communities that satisfy specific requirements for redevelopment are designated as Opportunity Zones under the Tax Act legislation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, census tracts are regions having 1,200–8,000 inhabitants, with an average of roughly 4,000.

“Even with that upward pressure, a significant share of Opportunity Zone markets are trailing the nation in year-over-year price gains, reminding us that the recovery remains uneven and that some communities have a longer road ahead,” Barber said.

When it comes to the likelihood of price growth in the second quarter of 2025, the difference between census tracts inside and outside of Opportunity zones is quite small; yet, the actual sticker prices of properties in these locations are typically significantly lower. The median home price in 79.9% of Opportunity Zone census tracts in the second quarter was less than the $369,000 national median.

The median property price in approximately half of Opportunity Zone census tracts (49.6%) was less than $225,000.

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The post Are Opportunity Zones Living Up to Their Promise? first appeared on The MortgagePoint.

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