"Is timber up or down right now?"

This is usually one of the first questions someone asks me when we start talking about their timber. A close second would be "Is this a good time to sell?" I always give the same answer:   

It depends. 

It depends on several factors such as species, product, size, quality, and logging conditions.   

Now don't get me wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these questions. In fact, this is probably exactly what I'd ask if I was trying to sell stocks or real estate, or something else I didn't deal with on a regular basis. Of course everyone wants to sell their timber at the height of the market. That's true of any investment. Most people only sell timber two or three times in their life, after all.

But you can't just turn on CNN or FOX News and look at the "Timber Price Index." There's no such thing. And even if there was, it probably wouldn't be applicable to your local area. Because timber markets vary A LOT from place to place. Just over 40 or 50 miles, conditions and prices can be a lot different. But year in and year out, timber markets vary a lot less than most people think.

In fact, for the last ten years or so, stumpage prices (the price that the landowner gets for the timber) for forest products in eastern North Carolina and Virginia have been relatively stable. 

However, timber markets vary a lot throughout the year. Prices tend to be higher in wet conditions such as winter or after a hurricane, and lower in dryer periods such as summer. This makes it important to market the timber at the time when it can be harvested, in most cases. 

A tract that can be logged in wet weather will receive more interest and higher prices if it is sold during wet conditions when other tracts can't be logged.  However, trying to sell a wet tract during a time of year that it can't be logged will result in fewer bids, lower offers, and ultimately less money for the landowner. 

On the other hand, selling a good tract with winter logging potential when conditions are dry will result in the landowner not realizing the full value of their timber. Mills and timber buyers are understandably reluctant to gamble on future market conditions when they are pricing timber.

Other important factors such as quality and local market conditions, such as mill outages or when mills are full, can be best determined by a forester experienced with selling timber in your area.  If you try to sell pulpwood when the paper mills in your area are all full of wood, for example, you'll probably be disappointed at how few bids you receive. And the offers you do get will be lower than the offers you would get under better market conditions. The same thing would happen if you tried to sell a sawtimber tract right after a sawmill closed in your area. 

On the other hand, if you were waiting for “the best time to sell”, and there was a mill in the area that was low on wood, and was paying a premium for the exact type of timber you have, you would miss out if you didn't know. 

These are some of the reasons the North Carolina Forest Service, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and most other states recommend private landowners use a consulting forester to sell their timber. Interstate Forest Products is listed as a consulting forester in both Virginia and North Carolina. We have the experience of thirty years of working in these local timber markets.

See our Contact Us page for contact information if you would like advice on when to sell your timber.