New data showed double-digit gains in many zones while values stayed below national norms
Median home prices in federally designated opportunity zones continued to track the broader United States market in late 2025, with nearly a third of tracts posting double‑digit gains even as values remained well below national levels, according to new figures from data firm ATTOM.
ATTOM’s fourth‑quarter analysis, covering 3,633 census tracts with at least five sales, found that median single‑family and condo prices rose year‑over‑year in 46.4% of opportunity zone areas, and by at least 10% in 30.7% of them. Outside the zones, 49.2% of tracts posted annual price gains and 28.8% saw increases of 10% or more.
Price growth keeps pace with rest of market
“The fact that price growth is happening in opportunity zones at roughly the same rate it's happening outside of them is a further sign that all sectors of the housing market are being affected by this sustained price increase,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM.
“It may be particularly encouraging for owners in these targeted redevelopment areas to see that nearly a third of opportunity zones saw double digit price growth”.
In earlier ATTOM reporting on the same segment of the market, Barber said that “home‑value patterns inside opportunity zones remain pretty much in lock‑step with the rest of the country,” driven by tight inventory and demand for cheaper neighborhoods.
He also warned that while many zones experienced solid appreciation, “the lowest‑end areas [were] struggling to keep up,” with fewer than half of tracts under $125,000 seeing annual gains.
Affordability and volatility for investors and lenders
Despite recent run‑ups, just 20.8% of opportunity zone tracts recorded median prices at or above the national median of about $365,000 in the fourth quarter, while more than half remained under $225,000.
ATTOM noted that typical prices rose or fell by more than 5% year‑over‑year in 89% of zones, underscoring how thin deal volumes could amplify volatility. Those dynamics have kept opportunity zones firmly in the frame for tax‑motivated real estate investors and the lenders who finance them.
Rental economist Jay Parsons argued that policy tools, including federal incentives, still depended on local zoning decisions.
“When you choke off housing, you drive up housing costs in the long run,” Parsons told Mortgage Professional America.
“The reality is affordability is a bifurcated issue of haves and have‑nots,” he said, adding that expanding programs such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and opportunity zones in pending federal legislation “is also impactful”.
At a separate congressional hearing on the housing crisis, HUD secretary Adrianne Todman pointed to opportunity zones as “a means to build affordable housing across the country”, echoing how brokers, nonbank lenders and private funds have used tax‑advantaged structures to extend capital into underserved neighborhoods.
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