Now a good time to sell?

[BRICH60]

Is now a good time to have your property logged? I have 80 acres in Indiana that i think is ready to be selectively cut, I have been approched by a couple loggers wanting to cut it. My only thought is with the economy being like it is, I`ve heard timber prices are down, would i be better off waiting a few years to have it done? How supressed are todays prices? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[willt1981]

around here its not such a good time. although i did get a call from one mill a little while ago saying their prices had come back up some. this time of year isnt logging time for me so i didnt go get a new price sheet. if youre not desperate for the money i would wait and see what prices do.

 

[371groundie]

insert "hire a forester" rant here

seriously. hire forester. if you cant find one, contact your state DNR or forest service. you will get more money, less headache, more answers, less questions.

if you want my full rant, let me know, im actually in a mood to type up a long rant, but have to get done checking the chainsaw forum first.

 

[Curlycherry1]

My brother in Upstate NY just received 25 loads of nearly perfect, clear for 20' straight as an arrow logs from a logger. The lumber prices are so low that folks are willing to let lumber logs go for firewood because he is the one of only a few folks buying anything. I would wait a few years. Sell off the culls for firewood and make some money on those, but keep the saw logs for later. Once they are cut their value will never increase.

 

[joesawer]

Maybe I am a skeptic. But...... the log prices where just as over inflated as the housing market and I don't see a similar boom in the foreseeable future. The inflation that is coming might push the $ up some even as the value declines. Right now I am just glad to be able to sell any logs and with the mills continuing to close and move overseas it is pretty scary.

 

[Curlycherry1]

Maybe I am a skeptic. But...... the log prices where just as over inflated as the housing market and I don't see a similar boom in the foreseeable future. The inflation that is coming might push the $ up some even as the value declines. Right now I am just glad to be able to sell any logs and with the mills continuing to close and move overseas it is pretty scary.

That's a good point. Black cherry at my local lumber yard was ~$7/bd ft for 4/4 just over a year ago. Similar prices for walnut and maple. Now they are back down around $3.50 and they seem to be holding. With no houses being built to use the lumber prices may not go back up for a while. The company I work for is estimating that ~35% of the houseing market is now gone because that was all part of the bubble.

Overseas there are still buyers. An exporter of lumber I buy from is still selling well overseas. And OUS mills are still buying. The world's largest Am Black Walnut supplier is the Honghong Lumber company in China. http://www.honghonglumber.com/en/index.asp

 

[toddstreeservic]

if you don't need the money, then I would wait. I second the hiring a consulting forester.

 

[loadthestove]

A lot of my customers are in the logging business and they tell me that log prices are rock bottom.As mentioned if you don't need the money just wait it out.

 

[logging22]

Better to wait. Prices are awful here, although we can sell everything we can cut. If it wasnt for good tie prices, we would be in deep trouble. Pallet logs here is just a waste of time to cut and haul to the mill. Grade aint much better. MY .02


Les

 

[crackajeff]

Hire a consulting forester. They will tell you how much your timber is worth and if it's a good time to sell. If it's not, which i doubt it is, they will tell you when a good time to cut will be.

 

[matt9923]

how much does a forester cost?

 

[crackajeff]

That depends. If there is a harvest, he gets a percentage of that. If not they might charge by the hour, day, or acre. Even if it's not a good time for a harvest, it's a good investment because you will know what you have and how much it's worth. They can also come up with a plan to make it worth more on down the road.

 

[logbutcher]

how much does a forester cost?

Priceless : hire a Consulting Forester.
A good forester will value your wood much more than any of us can, and the harvest will give the woodlot more value in the long run. Most pro loggers want to work with both owner and forester.
Northeast wood prices --pulp, sawlogs, veneer--have tanked. Only the firewood producers are doing any business---that's the marginal side of harvesting anyhow.
Contact your state forestry dept for current prices.
JMNSHO