The story of this market
The typical home in Wheeler County, Oregon sells for about $323,058, or $188 per square foot.
Prices are up +6.53% from a year ago, so sellers still have some momentum. Homes take about 120 days to sell, which is slow. The biggest natural hazard here is lightning, which FEMA rates very high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $1,014 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $1,014 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively High.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
+0.3%
OR · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Rent benchmark
Fair market rent by size
$1,404
3-bed / month
HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal 2027, for this county. A typical rent for a modest unit, used to set housing-voucher payments.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
91
Relatively High
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $2,799,256.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
68.8%
2018 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 49 | 22 | 68.8% | 0% | $155,000 |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
Wheeler County, Oregon
Wheeler County's housing market is characterized by low volume and limited inventory, reflecting its status as Oregon's least populous county. Prices have seen modest appreciation, driven by the scarcity of available housing rather than high demand. The market remains stable but stagnant due to the lack of economic growth and remote geography.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 3 cities · 4 ZIP reports
Median prices moved up 0.5% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 66 days on market with 1.9 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
10% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 30.15% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 4.0% · poverty 10.8% — a stable, low-distress profile.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Aggregate published statistics for this county — never individual records, and never an attribute of any individual property or resident.
Deterministic aggregate of 4 researched ZIP reports — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
Wheeler County, Oregon — researched county-level history with a deterministic 1 / 3 / 5-year projection
Solid: researched ten-year history · dotted: 1 / 3 / 5-year projection extended from the historical 9.3%/yr trend — a deterministic estimate, not a published forecast or guarantee.
No researched properties in this county yet — the property base layer populates as property research runs, and each property feeds its ZIP's roll-up.
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
| 97750 | Mitchell | $410,000 | $255 | +1.8% | 45 | 99.4% | 35% | 6.3 | 391 | $1,650 | researched Sep 26 |
| 97830 | Fossil | $246,000 | $145 | -1.2% | 98 | 96.5% | 15% | 6 | 12 | $950 | researched Sep 26 |
| 97851 | — | $345,000 | $215 | +2.4% | 88 | 97.5% | 18% | 7.2 | 42 | $1,250 | researched Sep 26 |
| 97874 | Spray | $267,600 | $177 | — | 73 | — | — | — | 15 | $688 | researched Sep 26 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
Schools in the county are primarily served by the Fossil and Mitchell school districts, which are small, rural, and face challenges typical of low-density populations.
The region faces significant wildfire risk due to its arid climate and extensive forest and rangeland coverage, impacting local insurance availability and premiums.
Economic momentum is limited, with the county's economy primarily anchored by agriculture, forestry, and government services; there is minimal large-scale commercial development.
Property taxes are assessed by the Wheeler County Assessor based on real market value, with rates influenced by local school district and county-wide special district levies.
The county is known for the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, offering significant paleontological sites, hiking, and outdoor recreation in a rugged, rural landscape.
The rental market is extremely thin with very limited inventory, primarily consisting of single-family homes in the county seat of Fossil.
The economy is heavily reliant on agriculture, livestock, and public sector employment, with very little industrial diversification.
Transportation is limited to rural state highways, with no public transit infrastructure and long drive times to major urban centers.
The Wheeler County Assessor manages property valuations, which are generally updated annually based on market trends and state-mandated assessment cycles.
Parcels are subject to levies from local school districts and county-wide emergency service or fire districts.
Property insurance is increasingly difficult to secure due to high wildfire risk, leading to rising premiums and limited carrier participation.
Net domestic migration has been relatively flat, with small fluctuations reflecting the county's limited housing and employment opportunities.
Oregon is a judicial and non-judicial foreclosure state, with specific notice periods and redemption rights governed by state statute.
Sellers are required to provide a standard property disclosure statement covering known material defects at the time of sale.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
A world-renowned site for paleontological research and public education, drawing visitors to the county's unique geological landscape.
Located in Fossil, this historic structure serves as the administrative heart of the county and a point of local pride.
Data retrieved from US Census Bureau QuickFacts and Census Reporter.
applies when — Members of the Oregon National Guard or Reserve who are deployed.
Allows for the exemption of a portion of the assessed value of a primary residence from local property taxes for a period of three to five years in standard zones, or up to 15 years in rural zones.
Business Oregon Enterprise Zone statutes
applies when — Qualified disabled veterans or their surviving spouses meeting specific disability or service-connected criteria.
Provides a reduction in the assessed value of the primary residence, effectively lowering the property tax burden based on the exemption amount set by statute.
ORS 307.250
applies when — Delinquency of property taxes for a period of three years from the earliest date of delinquency.
The county may initiate foreclosure proceedings to seize the property to satisfy the tax lien. Owners have redemption rights prior to the judgment of foreclosure.
ORS 312.010
Tax is calculated on the lesser of Real Market Value (RMV) or Maximum Assessed Value (MAV). MAV is limited to a 3% annual growth rate unless physical changes occur to the property. The tax is the product of the taxable assessed value and the local taxing district's millage rate.
Oregon Constitution; ORS Chapter 308
Governance registry — every jurisdiction re-researches on a rolling 90-day cycle. Property reports compose these inherited burdens into a per-parcel ledger with conditional determinations. Informational only — not legal advice.