It’s still hard to get a bank mortgage and sales are anything but brisk, but there are signs that the real estate market in Wallowa County has bottomed and is headed upward.

That was the assessment that longtime real estate broker Bill Bushlen, owner of General Land Office in Joseph, gave to the Rotary Club of Wallowa County June 9.

Since Jan. 1, 22 properties changed hands in the county, compared to 16 in the same period last year, Bushlen said.

“That tells me things are picking up,” he said.

Those ranged from an $8,500 lot in Imnaha River Woods to a $1.7-million ranch. Prices of bare land, farms and ranches are “holding nicely,” while residential prices are going down, he said. The average price that buyers are looking to pay for a home is around $150,000.

What are buyers looking for?

“Everybody wants five acres with a creek running through it backed up to national forest,” he smiled. “Or anything on the water.”

Rentals are tight and have always been, he noted.

“Wallowa County is a good place to buy rental properties,” he said. “We have more renters than places to put them in.”

Bushlen said it is “probably harder than it’s ever been” for buyers to get a bank loan. “We have some buyers, but we can’t get people qualified.” One needs a credit score in the high 700s to satisfy a bank, he said.

The county’s Board of Realtors numbers 25, down from 35 members a year ago, Bushlen said. “Some have part-time jobs and many haven’t sold anything so far this year,” he said.

“Real estate is still a good deal,” he added. “The market will come back.”