Jill Homan
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WASHINGTON, DC—For Jill Homan, there is more to commercial real estate than developing projects and properties—it is also about impacting communities and their residents. Not surprisingly then, investments in Opportunity Zones have been a strategic focus for Homan as the president of Javelin 19 Investments, a real estate investment and Opportunity Zone advisory firm with more than $155 million in investments/transactions.
“Opportunity Zones have the potential to be one of the most substantial real estate programs in a generation,” says Homan. “Any potential investors sitting on the sidelines should know that there are Opportunity Zones deals being completed nationwide. There are lucrative Opportunity Zone deals happening.”
Homan says there are a number of potential Opportunity Zone investors on the fence because they want to educate themselves more about deals being done before they themselves execute a transaction.
To get a better sense of where the market is, Homan tracks so-called “done deals” in Opportunity Zones. Specifically, instead of tracking the funds that are trying to raise a targeted amount of money, she tracks the projects after they receive the Opportunity Zone equity investment. In other words, if a developer has a project and is raising money, she won’t track that project until it receives the OZ investment.
“These projects on my list are real estate development projects, but I’m working on tracking investments into operating companies too,” explains Homan. “To date, I’ve tracked approximately $1.6 billion in equity structured using the Opportunity Zone incentive that has invested in about 60 projects. The list grows every day. Let’s assume that I know about even 20% of the Opportunity Zone transactions. That means that there has been about $8 billion worth of Opportunity Zone investments to date.”
Homan tracks the projects so that investors and stakeholders can learn that this incentive is being used and used broadly. Projects have been completed from Maine to Florida, from Minnesota to California and many points in between. The investors have included individuals, families, and funds. The more she can learn about transactional activity, the more helpful she can be to others, Homan tells GlobeSt.com.
“Deals are definitely being done. Investors are starting to put their capital gains into these Opportunity Zones. This program is off and running,” says Homan. “Since some of the benefits of the incentive start decreasing towards the end of the year, investors need to make decisions on how they will allocate their capital now.”
Homan doesn’t claim to be a one-stop shop for Opportunity Zones. it is important that potential investors refer to experts who understand in-depth the Opportunity Zone incentives, she says. These experts can assist developers and investors understand the risks and network with others in the industry.
“As there is not a central repository for Opportunity Zone information, we learn how deals are being executed and what funds are in the market by connecting with each other. Also, working with partners who are focused on Opportunity Zones can help people learn more about the marketplace and help them successfully complete Opportunity Zone transactions,” says Homan.
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