Prospectus: High hopes for AI and tech initiatives in WNY

But that's starting to happen every now and then.

Zillow has picked the Buffalo metro area to be the hottest housing market in the country for two years straight − a testament to our above-average affordability and our below-average housing prices.

And now, there's a big push to make the region − and all of upstate New York − part of the tech boom that has spawned so much growth across the country but largely passed by places like Buffalo Niagara.

If it succeeds, businesses supporting semiconductor manufacturing and artificial intelligence initiatives could become the catalyst that could help the region grow, not by the baby steps we've been accustomed to, but by leaps and bounds.

That's a very, very big "if," though. A lot would have to go right for it to happen, and there's oodles of competition for talent and investment. Every city in the country wants to ride the technology and artificial intelligence boom.

And it's not like we've got a head start either. Places like the Silicon Valley, Austin, Texas, and Boston have well-established track records in the tech sector, and they are magnets for tech-based entrepreneurs and the private investors they need to turn their ideas into fast-growing businesses.

Still, technology and artificial intelligence especially are the Next Big Thing. And local leaders hope the region will take a big step forward in bolstering its tiny tech sector after landing one of the federal tech hubs in a joint bid with Syracuse and Rochester.

The three cities, in an unprecedented display of regional cooperation, teamed up to promote the development of a semiconductor corridor along the Thruway. The federal government committed $40 million to the initiative. The state chipped in $8 million.

The tech hub aims to capitalize on opportunities stemming from Micron Technology’s plan to build a chip-making complex, worth up to $100 billion, outside of Syracuse. The idea is to generate more business for suppliers, train workers and promote innovation.

One of the focuses in Buffalo will be to coordinate a supply chain network for all three regions. The University at Buffalo will manage it, working with partners in each of the regions. The goal is to identify companies throughout the three regions that have the capabilities to become a supplier for the semiconductor industry, and see what kind of support they need to do it.

Then there's the $400 million Empire AI consortium, with the University at Buffalo as a hub. UB plans to build a $250 million AI supercomputing center at its North Campus. Empire AI’s goal is to harness AI “for the public good” by giving New York researchers the same advanced AI tools that big tech companies are using.

"Empire AI will put New York State at the epicenter of artificial intelligence innovation," UB President Satish Tripathi said last fall. "This game-changing initiative will enable us to tap the full power of AI to solve complex issues facing our state, nation and world."

Those are lofty expectations, especially for a region that the tech boom has largely passed by. But there is hope − and the chance that the initiative will pay off and become the catalyst for a transformative shift in the upstate economy.

The Buffalo Niagara region has one other thing going for it: Our lower cost of living is about 6% below the national average, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. That makes the region an attractive place for remote work, which is especially popular in the tech sector.

And that affordability starts with the local housing market, which cooled last year but is holding up better than many other higher-flying U.S. markets.

Home sales remain sluggish because homeowners are deciding to stay put, rather than trade their 3% or 4% mortgage for a high-priced home with a 7% home loan. Still, it seems that home sales have bottomed out. Pending home sales – deals that have signed contracts but haven’t yet closed – inched up by 1% last year, according to the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors.

But the median sale price of the homes that did sell grew by 5.5% to $240,000, according to the real estate group. That is about 40% below the median sale price nationally, where prices grew by less than 1% on average.

Analysts at real estate tracker Zillow, in naming Buffalo Niagara as its hottest housing market for 2025, expect more of the same, although they forecast the rise in home prices to slow to just under 3% this year.

"New jobs often mean new residents, which raises competition and drives up prices unless builders can match the additional demand," Zillow analyst Anushna Prakash said in the report. "Buffalo has the most new jobs per new home permitted − a key component that’s kept Buffalo at the top of the list for two years running, along with expected appreciation."

All of that is very un-Buffalo, an Old Economy Rust Belt metro area where progress for decades has been measured in baby steps.

Now, though, there is hope for something bigger. And we can only hope that it happens.