Buying Before You Sell in Oregon: The Whole Picture

Key takeaways

ORS 306.815(1) prohibits local transfer taxes, subject to a grandfather for ordinances in effect on March 31, 1997.
Buying does not reset assessed value: MAV growth is capped at 3 percent a year and a sale is not among the enumerated exceptions. (Oregon Dept of Revenue, read 2026-09-24.)
Oregon taxes the lesser of MAV and real market value, which matters where values are falling. (Oregon Dept of Revenue, read 2026-09-24.)
All 36 Oregon counties sit at the $832,750 baseline. Hood River is tightest at roughly $144,035 of headroom.
Five declining metros in August 2026: Brookings -1.0%, Coos Bay -0.9%, Bend -0.8%, Portland -0.4%, Astoria -0.1%.
Eastern Oregon ran the other way: La Grande +4.5%, Ontario +4.0%, The Dalles +2.6%, Hermiston +2.5%.
Fannie B3-3.8-05 (09/02/2026) bans leases for departing residences, counts rent at 75% less PITIA as an offset only, and adds six months of reserves under 12 months of management experience.

Program and regulatory figures verified September 25, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.

By Mike Certo, Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 · Updated September 25, 2026

Everything an Oregon homeowner needs before making an offer. Two of these facts save you money and one of them costs you time.

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One: two costs you do not have to model

ORS 306.815(1) prohibits Oregon cities, counties and districts from imposing a tax or fee upon the transfer of a fee estate in real property, or measured by the consideration paid or received. Subsection (4) grandfathers any tax whose ordinance was in effect and operative on March 31, 1997, so ask your closing agent about your specific county.

And buying does not reset your assessed value. The Oregon Department of Revenue caps MAV growth at 3 percent a year unless there are changes to the property, and lists those as a new structure, an improvement, or a subdivision or partition. A sale is not among them.

See the transfer tax page and the assessed value page.

Two: the loan limit will not bind

All 36 Oregon counties sit at the $832,750 national baseline for 2026, including Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Deschutes and Hood River. Hood River is the tightest at a typical value of $688,715, leaving roughly $144,035. Portland has about $289,907, Bend about $168,817.

So Oregon files stay on agency guidelines by default, which means the departing-residence rules are the published ones. See the loan limits page.

Three: the part that does cost you

Time. Five Oregon metros were declining as of August 2026, and Portland is among them. Bridge structures tier reserve requirements against expected marketing time, so Oregon is where the reserve conversation is hardest.

That should shape which structure you pick rather than merely how you price it. See the structures page and the move-up market page.

The rental-income rules changed in September 2026

Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-05, dated 09/02/2026 under Announcement SEL-2026-08:

A primary residence being vacated and converted to an investment property when the borrower buys a new primary residence is eligible.
The lender must document a current housing payment to use any departing-residence rental income.
Documentation is a complete appraisal with market rents, a Form 1007 rent schedule, or market analysis tools with at least three comparable rentals from the same market area where possible.
Lease agreements are not permitted for any departing residence.
Adjusted net rental income is gross rent times 75% less that property's PITIA. Positive offsets that PITIA only; negative is added to the debt-to-income ratio.
Six months of reserves for the vacated property's PITIA under 12 months of property management experience.

Mechanics on the Form 1007 page, Oregon specifics on the rental conversion page.

Where in Oregon you are moving

Read the move-up market page, then Portland, Bend and Central Oregon, the Willamette Valley or the coast.

Two situations with different answers

Under contract but not closed and listed but not sold have their own pages.

Frequently asked questions

What should an Oregon homeowner check first before buying the next house?

How long the departing home is likely to take to sell. Two costs that complicate this elsewhere are absent in Oregon: ORS 306.815 prohibits local transfer taxes and a sale does not reset assessed value. The binding variable here is expected marketing time, which drives reserve requirements.

What is the conforming loan limit in Oregon for 2026?

$832,750 on one unit in all 36 counties, the national baseline. There is no high-cost county anywhere in Oregon, including Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Deschutes and Hood River.

Which Oregon county has the least conforming headroom?

Hood River, with a typical home value of $688,715 in August 2026 against the $832,750 baseline, leaving roughly $144,035. Bend is next at $663,933, about $168,817 of headroom.

Did the rules for using rental income from a departing residence change?

Yes. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.8-05 is dated 09/02/2026 under Announcement SEL-2026-08. Lease agreements are no longer permitted for any departing residence, qualifying income is gross rent times 75% less that property's PITIA as an offset only, and six months of reserves apply under 12 months of property management experience.

Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Oregon property tax is administered county by county under the Department of Revenue, and whether any local charge applies to your transfer depends on where the property sits; your closing agent, your CPA or an Oregon attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.