NOLA City Council, NORA Put Thousands of Properties on Auction Block

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

NOLA City Council President Stacy Head

The city of New Orleans has started putting 3,000 tax-adjudicated properties up for sale. The New Orleans City Council is working together with the New Orleans Mayor’s Office, the Law Department and the Finance Department to place the properties for sale through an online auction. This marks the first adjudicated property sale in many years. It is also the first sale of its kind to take place via online auction. The city of New Orleans will start listing the properties starting March 6 at https://www.CivicSource.com. All properties will be marked on a map and accompanied by a detailed description. The first round of online auctions will take place in July.

All properties put on the auction block failed to find new ownership within a tax sale in at least five years. Winning bidders will receive full ownership of each property and guaranteed title insurance.

“A good portion of the adjudicated property was from pre-Katrina blight in areas where markets are high and where the demand is just great. The online auction process is another step in the right direction – it’s another blight-fighting tool in our tool box that will help us continue to move the ball forward,” New Orleans City Councilmember LaToya Cantrell said.

The city is not the only entity getting in on the auction action. The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) has also announced a round of auctions, in partnership with Hilco Real Estate LLC.

NORA is putting approximately 130 properties up for auction, including single-family homes, doubles and vacant lots. The properties are spread throughout New Orleans, including New Orleans East, Gentilly, Filmore, Broadmoor, Hollygrove and Lakeview, St. Roch and the Lower Ninth Ward. The auction, set for March 28 at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, is open to the general public. However, while anyone can attend and bid, winning bidders must agree to rehab or complete construction within 365 days and keep the property code compliant.

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Image credit:  NOLA City Council