ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, has officially published its third-quarter 2024 report analyzing qualified low-income Opportunity Zones targeted by Congress for economic redevelopment in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
According to certain reports, the stated report covered 3,857 zones around the United States with sufficient data to analyze. The stated sufficiency here was markedly defined by each zone having at least five home sales during the third quarter of 2024. Keeping that in mind, out of 3,857 Opportunity Zones recruited for the report, 3,426 had enough data to generate usable median-price comparisons. Furthermore, 3,420 had enough data to make comparisons between the third quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024
Talk about the results, they showed that median prices of single-family homes and condos increased during the third quarter of 2024 in 1,803 (53 percent) Opportunity Zones. When we take up an annual view of things, the price remained up, as compared to the third quarter of 2023, in 2,091 (61 percent) those zones.
Next up, the report found how typical values rose by more than 10 percent annually in 43 percent of Opportunity Zones versus 37 percent of census tracts. Moving forward, when measured quarterly, typical values were up more than 5 percent in 42 percent of Opportunity Zones, and at the same time, they are up in 39 percent of neighborhoods outside the zones.
Now, while that indicates a positive market sentiment, ATTOM’s report does have median prices going up annually in 48 percent of Opportunity Zones, where homes commonly sold for less than $125,000 during the third quarter of 2024. Anyway, the largest portions of zones where median prices increased annually were in Nevada (medians up from the third quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of 2024 in 81 percent of zones), Wisconsin (75 percent), Indiana (72 percent), Ohio (69 percent), and Utah (69 percent).
As for the states where prices were up annually in the smallest portion of zones, they included Kentucky (median prices up in 46 percent of zones), Louisiana (47 percent), Colorado (47 percent), Arizona (48 percent of zones), and Oklahoma (52 percent).
“Another quarter, another sign of rising fortunes. That again is the takeaway from home-price data inside neighborhoods with some of the most pressing needs around the country, marking just the latest indication of their economic potential,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “We keep seeing this over and over as soaring values push house hunters without a ton of resources out of pricier locations to more-affordable markets. The situation inside Opportunity Zones still is far from rosy. Significant numbers still face depressed prices. But the latest big picture provides more evidence of home buyers interested in these communities.”
Another detail worth a mention here is rooted in how, 1,081 (28 percent) had median prices below $150,000 during the given timeframe. This marked a downturn of more than 33 percent and almost 60 percent from five years ago. On top of that, a sum of 636 zones (16 percent) had medians ranging from $150,000 to $199,999.
Among other things, the ATTOM’S lowdown revealed how the Midwest continued to have larger portions of the lowest-priced Opportunity Zone tracts. In essence, median home prices were found to be less than $175,000 across 58 percent of zones in the Midwest. This contingent was followed up by Northeast (40 percent), the South (39 percent), and then the West (5 percent).
As for the median household incomes, they were less than the medians, across the counties where they were located, in over 87 percent of the Opportunity Zones.
