Land · Oregon tax sale guide

Oregon tax sales by county

Verified

Oregon is the state where the tax sale happens twice and the public is only invited to the second one. The foreclosure sells every delinquent property directly to the county, the certified judgment itself acting as the certificate of sale (ORS 312.100). The county then holds the property through a two year redemption that runs from the judgment date, not from delinquency and not from the deed (ORS 312.120), the tax collector deeds what is left (ORS 312.200), and only then does a public sale exist, under the 2025 disposition system of ORS 312.520 or a sheriff sale under ORS chapter 275. Three corrections run through this page set. There is no investor sale at the foreclosure stage at all. The minimum price on the chapter 275 track is whatever the governing body writes into the sale order, and it may sit below the tax roll real market value; the appraised value floor of national summaries is not in the statute. And since 2025, surplus on an ORS 312.520 sale is a defined claim the former owner makes against the State Treasurer as unclaimed property, not a check the county writes at the sale (ORS 312.530 to 312.560).

This page set covers the top 10 Oregon counties by population, each verified against the county's own publications, and the new system is already visible in the largest county: Multnomah County held its Primary Auction on Monday, October 12, 2026 under ORS 312.500 and Board Order 2026-019, and its Secondary Auction is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, 2026, with several sale rules still marked as coming on the county page. Lane County takes sealed bids through Tuesday, November 10, 2026 for a Thursday, November 12 opening; Marion County auctions three properties in person on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, on sale terms that override its own general policy. Jackson County held an oral auction on Monday, October 12, 2026 and Yamhill County a sheriff auction on Friday, August 28, 2026, neither with a next date published. Washington County states there are currently no scheduled auctions, its last published auction Wednesday, March 12, 2025; Clackamas County's latest completed sale is Thursday, December 18, 2025 and Douglas County's latest verified sale is Tuesday, July 15, 2025. Deschutes County publishes no county land sale in the official sources read, and Linn County publishes none that a county source verifies; an auction reported for Thursday, November 5, 2026 in secondary coverage is flagged as unverified on the Linn County page rather than adopted.

Verify before you go: counties can move a date, change terms, cancel a sale, or pull parcels at any time. The official sale list is the final word.

The 10 counties

Each row links to that county's own page: selling office, venue or platform, deposit, payment terms, leftover channel, and sources. Where a county has not posted a dated sale, the row says so instead of projecting a pattern onto it.

How Oregon tax foreclosure and county land sales work

• Oregon runs two sales, and the first one has no public bidding at all. The foreclosure itself sells each property directly to the county: the certified copy of the foreclosure judgment is the certificate of sale to the county (ORS 312.100). There is no lien auction, no certificate for an investor to buy, and no third party in the room. The public buying opportunity comes only after the county holds the property through redemption and takes its deed, when the land is sold under ORS 312.520 or under the county land sale rules of ORS chapter 275. Any description of an Oregon tax lien sale is describing a proceeding Oregon does not hold.
• The road in is mechanical, and the county must walk it. Taxes are a lien from July 1 of the levy year with priority over all other liens (ORS 311.405), payable in thirds on November 15, February 15 and May 15, and delinquent if unpaid after May 15 (ORS 311.505 and 311.510), bearing interest at one and one third percent per month or fraction of a month. Real property is subject to foreclosure whenever three years have elapsed from the earliest delinquency (ORS 312.010). Within two months after delinquency day the tax collector prepares the foreclosure list, and three months after the delinquency of the latest year the collector, with the district attorney, shall institute one general proceeding in rem against everything on it (ORS 312.030 and 312.050). Notice runs by publication of the list and delivery to the owners shown in the deed records, under a county due diligence duty, and since the 2025 amendments the notice must warn that a former owner whose property is worth more than the amount owed is entitled to a return of money.
• The judgment starts a two year hold, and redemption runs from the judgment, not from the deed. The court gives a several judgment for the delinquent taxes and interest, foreclosing the liens, the judgment itself bearing interest at the legal rate of 9 percent per annum, and orders the properties sold to the county (ORS 312.090 and 312.100, and ORS 82.010). The county then holds each property for two years from the date of the judgment unless it is sooner redeemed (ORS 312.120). Summaries that count the two years from delinquency, or from the deed, misplace the window by years. The collector must send an individual expiration notice at least one year before the period expires, by certified and first class mail with a copy posted on the county website and information about claiming a surplus (ORS 312.125), and publish a general expiration notice 10 to 30 days before expiration (ORS 312.190).
• Redemption is specified to the dollar, and only one route shortens it. A person who held an interest at the judgment date, an heir or devisee, a lienholder of record, or a municipal lienholder may redeem by paying the full judgment amount with interest, plus a penalty of 5 percent of that total, plus a fee of 50 dollars before the certified mail expiration notice or the greater of 50 dollars or the actual title search cost on or after it (ORS 312.120). Partial redemption of an undivided interest is allowed. No property class carries a shorter general period. The only faster route is the waste or abandonment procedure of ORS 312.122, which requires a county ordinance and a hearing, and deeds the property 30 days after the governing body determines waste or six months of unoccupancy with substantial depreciation.
• The deed is the collector's, it needs no confirmation, and it wipes the lien slate almost clean. Property not redeemed inside the two years is deeded to the county by the tax collector, and all redemption rights terminate on execution of the deed (ORS 312.200). The county takes title free from all liens and encumbrances except assessments levied by a municipal corporation for local improvements, and a private purchaser at a county resale takes free of even those (ORS 312.270). Challenges to the foreclosure must be commenced within two years from the date of the judgment of foreclosure and sale to the county, with the payment into court ORS 312.230 requires; note that this clock also runs from the judgment, so by the time a deeded parcel reaches a sale much of it may already have run.
• Since 2025, the front door sale of foreclosed homes runs under ORS 312.520, not the sheriff. After redemption expires the county may retain foreclosed property for public purposes or transfer it to a nonprofit for public benefit, in either case on an unaffiliated licensed appraisal. What is not retained or transferred is sold under ORS 312.520: a property in a residential zone that was the former owner's primary residence is first listed with an independent real estate broker at the highest price at which it is reasonably expected to sell (with an unaffiliated appraisal where its tax statement real market value exceeds 250,000 dollars). A public high bid auction follows where no broker agreement is reached after three attempts, where a broker cannot sell within 12 months, or where the property is not a qualifying primary residence: advertised in a multiple listing service for at least 30 days, the first auction starting at two thirds of fair market value as of the county deed date and selling only to a highest bidder whose bid exceeds the outstanding taxes and other allowable costs, and a second auction, if the first fails, starting at the taxes and allowable costs themselves. If the property fails twice, the county may forgive the taxes and costs and retain it or transfer it to a nonprofit. Multnomah and Yamhill Counties already run versions of this ladder, documented on their pages.
• The older channel is a sheriff sale at a minimum price the county board simply sets. Under ORS chapter 275 the governing body orders the sheriff to sell county land and fixes the minimum price for each parcel or group in the sale order, and that minimum may be lower than the tax roll real market value (ORS 275.110 and 275.120). There is no appraised value floor in the statute. The sheriff publishes notice once a week for four consecutive weeks, and the sale is held in the county between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to the highest and best bidder, for cash or for not less than 10 percent in cash with the balance in equal installments over no more than 20 years at a governing body rate (ORS 275.140 and 275.190). Land the sheriff does not sell may go at private sale for not less than the largest bid received, or, if no bid was made, for a reasonable price no less than 15 percent of the sheriff sale minimum (ORS 275.200); a separate private sale exists only for parcels under 15,000 dollars of real market value that are unsuited for a dwelling (ORS 275.225); and the board may sell tax acquired property back to the record owner at taxes and interest at purchase plus 6 percent per annum (ORS 275.180). Marion, Jackson, Douglas and Yamhill Counties sell on this channel, each on its own board's orders.
• Surplus is now a defined claim, paid through the State Treasurer, on ORS 312.520 sales. The 2025 law, ORS 312.500 to 312.560 (House Bill 2089), defines surplus as the value of the disposed property less the allowable costs listed in ORS 312.530, including the judgment and its interest, taxes and interest that would have been due through the sale, the county amounts in ORS 275.275, municipal lien reimbursements, and reasonable foreclosure and disposal fees. The county determines the surplus within 60 days, gives notice of it, and reports and delivers it to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property within 30 days after determination; the former owner or other claimant as narrowly defined in ORS 312.500 claims it from the Treasurer under ORS 98.392 and 98.396, at any time after it is reported. Proceeds on the chapter 275 track that are not surplus under this system are distributed under ORS 275.275, county refunds first, then filed municipal lien claimants and governmental units, on a June 30 cycle. A buyer should know which track a sale is on before assuming anything about where the money above the tax debt goes.
• No county in this set has its own statute, and the visible differences are practice, not law. Chapters 312, 275 and 311 name no county and give none of the ten a different foreclosure, redemption, deed or sale rule; the only textual differences are population based proceeds and conveyance rules in ORS 275.275 and 275.330. Practice diverges sharply anyway: Multnomah runs the new two stage ORS 312.520 auctions, Lane sells by sealed bid off a standing list, Marion auctions three parcels at a time in a hearing room under board orders that override its own general policy, Deschutes publishes no county land sale in the sources read, and Linn publishes none that could be verified from a county source at all. The governing document for any given parcel is the county's own order and notice for that sale.

One Oregon fact decides most purchases: there are two minimum prices and neither is a formula. Under ORS chapter 275 the governing body fixes the minimum in the sale order and may set it below the tax roll value; under ORS 312.520 the first auction starts at two thirds of fair market value and a winning bid must also exceed the taxes and allowable costs. The number that matters is in the county's order or auction notice for the sale in front of you.

Research the parcels before you bid

A sale list gives you the parcel, the date, and the opening terms. It does not give you the owner, the value, or the rest of the picture: liens, foreclosure status, and parcel history. PropertyRadar is the data platform for that layer. It carries owner records, assessed and market values, foreclosure and tax data, and property history for parcels across the country, searchable by address, owner, or county, including parcels that never reach a sale list.

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The dates on these pages are the free layer. The Pine membership is the paid layer, proven in New York: members pick their counties, get alerts when a sale is scheduled or a list posts, and receive the full property list with the analysis already done. Oregon counties open from the interest list first, in the order readers join it.

Keep going

Once a deadline puts you in a sale, the Land Investor Due Diligence Toolkit is the checklist and bid worksheet to run on each parcel before you bid.