Naujienos
2006 - 02 - 08
* Low interest rates explain high forest prices in Sweden
 www.nordicforestry.org |
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(01/02/2006) Low interest rates combined with high demand has resulted in record prices for forest land in Sweden. And even if interest rates go up, prices are not expected to come down again.– The fascinating thing about wooded real estate is that it has practically never gone down in price, says Tomas Karlsson, an expert on forest economics at LRF Konsult, consultants affiliated to the Federation of Swedish Farmers. According to recent statistics from LRF Konsult, the average price today for a piece of land with a cubic metre of standing timber is around 27 EURO, compared to 24 EURO in 2004, which represents an increase of 12 percent. This great interest in forest investments is expected to continue also in the years ahead. One of the reasons behind this is the situation caused by the storm named Gudrun that hit Southern Sweden in January last year. As the money from storm damage compensations and timber sales flows in, forest owners will want to reinvest it in forest land, Tomas Karlsson believes. In Northern Sweden, last year’s price increases were as high as 30 percent. Elsewhere in Sweden the increase was 10 percent. When forest land is sold, the buyer is usually a neighbour or someone connected with them. – Farmers and forest owners have a strong drive to buy land. This goes quite deep. There is prestige in owning real estate, and it represents economic safety, Tomas Karlsson says. | |
