Orange County, NY
Online tax foreclosure auction on NYSAuctions.com, Oct 22 — homes pulled from the September sale
Orange County, New York's main tax foreclosure auction ran online from August 31 to September 2, 2026, with 81 items in its catalog. The county's Real Property office then posted that many residences were pulled from that auction and will be offered at a second online auction opening October 22, 2026, together with residences pulled from an auction held in 2024. Both are run by the county's auctioneer, Absolute Auctions & Realty, at NYSAuctions.com, where the October 22 parcel list is posted; anyone who registered for the September auction is automatically registered for this one. The county also keeps a leftover list of parcels that didn't sell at earlier auctions, normally open to bids every month — but that deed-sale process is paused because of recent changes to New York's Real Property Tax Law.
Those changes are why Orange County now publishes surplus and non-surplus reports for each auction. Under Article 11 of the Real Property Tax Law as amended in 2024, money a tax-foreclosed property brings in above the taxes owed goes to the former owner and lienholders; the county files the reports with the court and the County Clerk, and tells anyone claiming surplus to consult an attorney. For a bidder the mechanics of a New York county auction apply: the county has already foreclosed in rem and taken title, so you're buying the property itself with a quitclaim deed, and there's no redemption by the former owner afterwards. For leftover-list bids, the county no longer takes cash — payments and 10% deposits must be by official bank check or money order — and before each auction a booklet with general information and the parcel list is available from the Real Property Tax office in Goshen.
New York rules at a glance
New York has no single tax sale. Under Article 11 of the Real Property Tax Law, most counties foreclose unpaid tax liens themselves in an in rem court proceeding once the redemption period ends (two years after the lien date, three or four for homes and farms where a local law extends it), take title and auction the property with a quitclaim deed; since 2024 any surplus goes to the former owner and lienholders (RPTL §§ 1110, 1111, 1136, 1196–1197). A few places kept their own laws: Nassau County auctions liens with the rate bid down from 10% per six months, and New York City sells its liens only to a single trust, and it paused the 2026 sale.
The statute, the bidding and what goes wrong for new buyers are on the New York page; every sale date we have sourced for Orange County is on the Orange County page.
Property & tax profile
The median homeowner in Orange County pays $8,494 a year in property tax — above the New York median of $6,582 (U.S.: $3,119). That is roughly what a typical home here owes for each year it goes unpaid — the debt that the opening bid at a deed sale is usually built from, plus interest and costs. Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $8,877; homes owned outright, $7,529.
On a home with a mortgage, the lender has its own reason to pay a delinquent tax bill: the tax lien outranks the mortgage, and a tax deed can wipe out the loan. On a home owned outright, nobody but the owner — or the heirs — has that reason. In Orange County, 33.5% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (New York: 42.2%, U.S.: 39.4%). That is less than the state as a whole: more of the delinquent bills here sit on mortgaged homes, where the lender often steps in.
7.4% of all housing units in Orange County are vacant. The figure that matters for a buyer at the tax sale is the Census “other vacant” category — not for rent, not for sale, not a holiday home, but a catch-all that includes foreclosures, homes held up by legal proceedings or family reasons, homes needing repairs, and abandoned ones. Here it is 3.4% of all units (New York: 3.4%, U.S.: 3.6%). Close to the state rate.
Half of the homes in Orange County were built in or before 1975 (New York: in or before 1959) — newer than most of the state. The typical tax bill is 8.7% of the median household income of $97,178 (New York: 7.7%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25077, B25103, B25081, B25002, B25004, B25035, B19013) — see the figures on data.census.gov. Survey estimates with margins of error; anything too uncertain to state is left out.
Before you bid: Check the October 22 parcel list on the auctioneer's site, and sign up for notifications on the county's Auction & Deed Sale page to catch changes. Questions go to Orange County Real Property, 255 Main Street, Goshen, at 845-291-2490.
Official source: orangecountyny.gov — checked October 4, 2026
More sales: 41 other county sales are on the calendar in October 2026 — see them by date; or the upcoming sales in New York.
This page reflects publicly posted county auction notices as of publication and is general information, not financial or legal advice. Sale details can change — always confirm current terms with the county directly.