Opportunity Zones Boost Real Estate Prices as Investors Rush In

Real estate investors are rushing to take advantage of the 2017 tax overhaul’s opportunity zone tax breaks—and may risk shooting themselves in the foot by propping up prices in already-hot urban markets.

“There are funds that have raised $500 million and they have timelines to make investments, so they’re out competing against each other, driving the prices wildly up,” Paul Wilner, a CPA and partner at Grossberg Co. LLP in Bethesda, said at a June 27 New York University conference in Washington. “Which speaks to the bad economics of the whole thing—because you’re going to way overpay for something ...