Owning a forest as an investment: sell trees, enjoy peace and quiet

Fridolin Angerer, expert for forest, land and castles at Spiegelfeld Immobilien, has been dealing with forest properties since 2005. “Back then, a square meter cost around 68 cents, today it’s an average of 1.96 euros,” he calculates. Adjusted for inflation, land and forests will become more expensive by around 1.9 percent per year during this period. Nevertheless, a forest property is a holistic investment that has value simply because it can be used for recreational purposes. Added to this is the income from the trees, which can be sold, as well as hunting – because the management of the forest is up to the owner.

Climate change changes forest

With climate change, however, the forest is changing. “Where there used to be only conifers, there are now deciduous trees,” says Fridolin Angerer. These are more difficult to process for the industry than conifers. But at least there are trees that adapt to the changing climate – wood that can cope well with the lack of water is the future Forest areas are in great demand, the demand exceeds the supply. “We might sell more forests than we can offer,” says the Spiegelfeld agent.

Wanted: 120 to 200 ha

The purchase price depends on the size and location as well as on existing buildings. Buyers are looking for at least sizes between 120 and 200 hectares, which is mainly due to the fact that forest areas under 115 hectares do not offer private hunting. Smaller areas, 5 to 10 hectares, make sense if, for example, you want firewood for your own tiled stove. However, only large, contiguous areas are worth investing in. The altitude also plays a role, because higher forests in mountainous regions are less affected by climate change, since the snow causes precipitation here. “However, the investment hardly brings any returns, it’s more regarding dealing with nature,” Angerer is convinced. “Forest is particularly suitable for maintaining the value of assets across generations,” agrees Klaus Bischof, founder and managing director of Bischof Immobilien iBi.

Forest house, hunting lodge

Around 75 percent of Austria’s forests are privately owned by churches, monasteries, farmers and noble families. The rest belongs to the Austrian federal forests, states and municipalities. Once you own a forest area, you will not give it back so quickly – unless you are in financial difficulties. A forester’s lodge, a hunting lodge or a manor house is often connected to the forest, and these are often used as a weekend home – and enable the forest to be used as a place to relax.