A Window Of Opportunity: OZs Are Ripe For Real Estate Investing

For the first time in history, a vacant parcel of land on the Lower East Side of Manhattan has a common economic thread with low-income areas in Idaho. They are among the nearly 9,000 census tracts that have been designated Opportunity Zones by the federal government and are ripe for real estate investment. The Opportunity Zone (OZ) investment is part of a new community development program offered through the Federal Tax Cuts and Job Acts of 2017, which encourages private investment in low-income urban and rural communities. They are a unique vehicle for smart investors who want to maximize their capital gains while investing that money altruistically to rebuild and reenergize communities. Think of the program as a free-market approach to spur economic and community development through long-term investment. It is a prime opportunity for real estate investors to rebuild entire communities while also benefiting from a federal tax break.