A New Wave of Opportunity Zones Is Coming in 2027—and Home Values Are Already Surging in Key States

The United States has thousands of new Opportunity Zones, a designation that could bring rising values to many emerging housing markets.

The Treasury Department last week announced 6,576 new Opportunity Zones (OZ), which will maintain that status for the next decade. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have zones in the mix, and 2,594 of them are in rural areas. OZs benefit from enhanced economic incentives, and they're targeted at communities with the potential to grow.

“By designating thousands of new Qualified Opportunity Zones, the IRS and Treasury are enabling targeted investment and growth in communities where it is needed the most," IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said in a statement.

This is the second round of OZs since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act established the program in 2017. The private sector has invested $110 billion in developing the first crop, Treasury said. The original OZs remain active through 2028, and the new ones begin in 2027. Some OZs were renewed.

States submitted nominations from about 25,300 census tracts eligible for the program, and leaders cheered their wins. There are about 25% fewer tracts than last time.

"Whether it's bringing new life to a downtown, creating great-paying jobs, or building housing for more families, these Opportunity Zones will help attract investments that can make a real difference in the lives of Ohioans," Gov. Mike DeWine said of Ohio's 260 new OZs.

“Virginia is ready to harness the potential of Opportunity Zones,” Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said of the state's 153 new OZs. “I worked closely with local leaders across Virginia to make sure we supported the priorities that mattered most to local communities."

Study tracks rising home values in Opportunity Zones

Property data group ATTOM analyzed 3,805 OZ census tracts from the last tranche and found median single-family home and condo prices rose in 48.1% them. Compare that to home prices outside of OZs, which rose 51.6%.

Some OZs see their home values rise much more quickly. ATTOM found that about 9.4% of the OZ census tracts saw their highest median home value since the Great Recession in the third quarter of 2026. About 27.1% of them saw double-digit growth in home values year over year.

“Opportunity Zones remain a notably lower-cost segment of the housing market, with nearly 80% of these areas posting median home prices below the national median,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “Even so, home values were only slightly less likely to rise in these areas in the third quarter, suggesting that many of these communities are still moving broadly with the market.”

Midtown Nashville, TN, a fast-growing area between downtown and Vanderbilt University, hosts a new Opportunity Zone. (Getty Images)

As far as states with a lot of OZ price growth, Maine came in first, with 64% of its OZs seeing median home prices rise. South Carolina (61.3%), Wisconsin (58.3%), Virginia (53%), and Oregon (52.3%) rounded out the top five.

ATTOM noted that many of the census tracts recorded a low number of sales, so the data can be volatile. Still, 79.5% of them had home prices below the national median. Outside of them, just 50.4% of tracts had prices below the national median.

Michael Tillman, CEO of OZ developer PTM Partners, tells Realtor.com® the program also gives developers time to experiment. His company builds workforce housing in Florida using cold-formed steel and vertical integration.

"These are not build-and-flip products; we want to be there as their family grows," Tillman said of the units. "That's stickier than high-end luxury. There's got to be more institutional capital with that long-term focus."

Could changes help?

OZs tend to have higher poverty rates, lower median family income, and more housing cost burdens than a typical area. Some are in urban areas, and others are in rural ones.

Brookings Institute analyzed the OZ program and found half of the zones saw "accelerated growth." But it said the designation alone doesn't create success. Local market conditions and state and local regulations play a role. And, while they do often mean new investment, that can vary depending on the development already there.

"Investment alone is not synonymous with shared prosperity," Brookings said in the report. "In some places, OZ capital has expanded housing supply, supported business formation, created jobs, and leveraged underutilized community assets—while in others, it flowed toward projects with limited community benefits or into neighborhoods already on a growth path."

Brookings also noted the first round of OZs came when the country already saw increased building. What this means in the current, challenged market has yet to be seen. States should develop a strategy for how to develop each zone.