Looking for an affordable home in an urban, walkable neighborhood has become more difficult of late in Western New York. If you’re more enterprising and handy than most (or able to finance what you can’t do yourself), than the City of Niagara Falls might have the perfect solution for you. On April 14, they will auction off 20 city-owned homes. 

It’s hard to imagine real estate prices in Niagara Falls ever getting lower than where they are now, especially now that the removal of the Robert Moses Parkway and the construction of the new Amtrak station on Whirlpool Street may combine to serve as a catalyst to rebuild the Main Street business corridor north of downtown. Being willing to handle the city’s conditions for this auction and able to finance and handle the needed repairs could get you an ever steeper discount. There are not many places in the world one could live so cheaply and be in biking distance, sometimes walking distance of one of the world’s greatest natural attractions.

The home at 313 74th Street.

The city wants the auction to serve not just as a tax foreclosure clearing house, they are trying to rebuild their neighborhoods through home ownership. Successful bidders must agree, for example, to bring the house up to code within 12 months of ownership and must reside in the home as its prime occupant for at least five years. “We are helping people build equity and strengthening our neighborhoods through home ownership,” said Seth Piccirillo, Director of Niagara Falls Community Development.

A map of where these 20 homes are is located below, and each map point links to an informational page about that property prepared by the City of Niagara Falls. Prospective bidders can make appointments to tour the homes at an informational meeting to be held on Wednesday March 30 at 5pm in City Council Chambers, City Hall at 745 Main Street. 

For more information, please see the city’s online notice here. 

The house at 2878 Mckoon Avenue.