Forest estate trade grew moderately during the coronavirus year

The most forest estates of over 10 hectares were sold in Northern Ostrobothnia, a total of 520. It was followed by Lapland with 330 sold forest estates. In Lapland, sales volumes increased by as much as 37 percent. The purchase price of the sold estates reached nearly EUR 300 million.

“The median price per hectare was EUR 3,070, showing an increase of 3 percent from the previous year. The average area of the sold estates was 41 hectares”, says chief expert Esa Ärölä.

Regional figures of forest estate trade are available in the openly accessible Statistical information on real estate transactions service of the National Land Survey of Finland (NLS).

Funds maintained their active role in buying forest estates

Last year, companies accounted for 14 percent of the number of forest transactions, roughly 13 percent of the purchased area and some 17 percent of the purchase price.

Correspondingly, funds made up nearly 18 percent of the number of sold forest estates, 37 percent of the surface area and roughly 34 percent of the purchase price. In addition, private buyers accounted for nearly 64 percent of the number of sold forest estates, 45 percent of the surface area and roughly 44 percent of the purchase price.

In the remaining forest estate transactions, buyers included municipalities, foundations, the state and jointly owned forests.

Compared with 2019, the role of funds has increased by 4.6 percentage points regarding the number of purchases and by 4.4 percentage points considering the purchase price. Correspondingly, the role of private buyers has decreased by 5.3 percentage points regarding the number of purchases and by 4.6 percentage points considering the purchase price.

“When looking at these changes, it should also be considered who the sellers of forests have been. Funds accounted for 3.7 percent of the sales price of forest estates last year and 1.1 percent in the previous year. This means that the role of funds regarding purchases from other groups increased by 1.8 percentage points in real terms. Funds also bought forest estates from other funds”, Ärölä emphasises.

The proportion of death estates from sales of forest estates has remained at slightly above 20 percent during the past five years, when sales are examined relative to quantities, surface areas or purchase prices.

Sales of forest estates included in the summary

• purpose of use: agriculture and forestry
• minimum total area: more than 10 hectares
• forestry land: at least 95 percent of the total area
• the sold estate does not extend to any area with a detailed plan, such as an area with a detailed shore plan
• the estate is not traded between relatives
• parcels, or pension or other rights have not been retained in the transaction