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Opportunity Zones in Harlem were saw home prices surge in the third quarter.
The jump in values in the Manhattan neighborhood far outpaced growth seen in Opportunity Zones across the country, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of data provided by Attom. The real estate data firm included tracts that had at least five home sales in the third quarter but noted that since these regions tend to have low numbers of sales in general, they are subject to volatility.
Introduced in 2017 as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Opportunity Zones are intended to offer tax incentives to generate investment in lower-income areas. Real estate investment has dominated in the tracts, of which there are more than 8,700 across the country.
The area with the highest third-quarter jump in the Big Apple is the Opportunity Zone bounded by Central Park North and West 114th Street, and then Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X boulevards. With an eyebrow-raising median home value of $2.6 million, the zone counts the highest in the city and double Manhattan’s overall median home price.
Since the third quarter of 2018, the zone bordering Central Park has seen its median home value surge 220 percent, with steep spikes in growth occurring once it was designated as an Opportunity Zone.
This value had climbed more than 175 percent from the first three months of the year — a significant spike compared to the city’s and country’s other Opportunity Zones.
New York City’s area with the second-greatest median home value was the Opportunity Zone located directly north, though stretching from West 114th Street to West 118th Street. Its median home value hit $1.5 million in the third quarter, though there was no data available for the second quarter.
Across the country, about half of the Opportunity Zones Attom studied had median home prices under $225,000. The national median home price was $369,000, according to Attom.
The program, particularly in New York, is not without criticism. A report by the Furman Center found that housing built in New York’s Opportunity Zones was disproportionately market-rate.
The program’s main benefits were set to expire in 2026, though President Donald Trump over the summer revamped the program and the program has been extended indefinitely. Among the changes include stricter eligibility criteria for zone designations and new reporting requirements.