Wood plots have been very popular from investors since the beginning of the health crisis. If this investment has multiple tax incentives, offers good security and protection against price increases, it is not safe.
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For who is concerned about the return of inflation, or fears a reversal of the real estate markets or fellows in 2022, bet on forests is a track to be studied. Provided a very long investment horizon.
This tangible and secure asset has indeed a completely decorred cycle of those of stone and actions. Better yet, “in the long run, the wood class evolves in parallel inflation. This investment also offers protection against rising prices,” says Hervé Thiard, Director General of Pictet Asset Management France.
For two years, the forest placement has also the wind on its stern. “The health crisis has become aware of investors of nature value and we have experienced a sharp rise in demand,” says Sylvestre Coudert, President of the Forest Experts of France.
Unlike a received idea, it is not necessary to have a colossal fortune to buy plots. Because approval forests, widely owned by individuals (75% are deprived of France), often have a surface less than ten hectares. In 2020 (number 2021 has not yet been published), the average price of a forest was 4,280 euros / hectare, or 2.3% more than in 2019, according to land development companies and rural settlements (SAFER). With significant regional disparities, since it was necessary to count 2,550 euros / hectare in the Massif Central (+ 6.4% compared to 2019) and 6 640 euros in the North and the Paris Basin (+ 1.7% Over the same period).
Tensions on Douglas pine and oak
The reason for such gaps? “The price of a forest depends on the quality of the soil and the land pressure, the type of planted species, the age of the trees and the accessibility of the parcel – which determines the cost of its exploitation”, Detail Sylvestre Coudert. Other parameters also come into play to evaluate the future value of a forest, including “climate change in the region and the future of planted species, which depends on their ability to adapt to temperature changes”, he adds.
The yield of a forest varies depending on the price of wood, and therefore cutting trees planted. He remained very stable over the last fifty years and oscillated between 1% and 2.5% per year. In some areas, the Sologne in particular, and in the forests close to large agglomerations, the owners could maximize their income by renting their forests to hunting companies.
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