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Edited from LOGGER
AND LUMBERMAN / MARCH 2002
Southern timberland and farmland values
climbed significantly in 2001 despite a depressed timber stumpage market and
a generally weak agriculture economy . . .
Prices for bare timberland--not including the value of any standing trees
(stumpage) on the land--increased 9 percent over 2001. The upward
trend in bare timberland prices mirrored a similar rise in Southern
agriculture land values as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
annual survey. In the 10 Southern states that comprise the major portion of
the region's commercial timber belt, the USDA showed that average per-acre
farm real estate values increased by 6.5 percent in 2001 over the previous
year.
The
strength in farmland and bare timberland prices is surprising in view of the
prevailing weakness across the South in prices paid for many agriculture
commodities-notably cotton and soybeans--and for most classes of
trees--especially pine pulpwood.
Average bare timberland prices increased from a 2000 average of $568 per
acre to an average of $620 per acre to date in 2001--a rise of almost 9
percent. However, prices paid for large commercial timber properties of more
than 10,000 acres failed to show the same increasing price trend and appear
more severely influenced by the depressed timber stumpage market. Prices
paid in large timberland transactions averaged $374 per acre in 2001, down
slightly from $376 per acre in 2000. |
"The
relationship between these two timberland markets indicate that the buyers
of retail timberland properties (smaller tracts) continue to attribute
additional value to timber lands over and above their
timber income value
for amenities such as outdoor recreation, hobby farms, and rural home
sites," said Jeff Williams, head of F&W's Forestland Appraisal Group. He
noted that areas indicating the largest increases in value continue to be
those of the fringes of expanding metropolitan areas.
The increase in
agriculture land values continued an upward trend that began in the late
1980's, according to the USDA survey of farm real estate that includes all
categories of land and buildings. In the 10-state Southern region, farmland
increased 6.5 percent to a record $1,765 in 2001, up from $1,657 in the
prior year. Southern farm values showed significant gains compared to the
national average of $1,130 per acre in 2001, up 4.6 percent from the
previous year.
The USDA survey also showed that North
Carolina had the largest increase in 2001, with the per-acre average
climbing to $2,800 this year, up 12 percent from 2000. Georgia was second
with an 11.7 percent increase to $2,100 average per acre. Louisiana and
Texas had the smallest increases of 1.6 percent each.
Over the past five years, average farm real estate values in the 10 Southern
states have risen 25.5 percent, up from $1,406 per acre. Georgia's increase
was greatest at 46.9 percent and Louisiana was smallest at 6.7 percent. |
