Gary Jellum, one of the brokers with the Whitney Land Company, enjoys helping clients with timber-influenced real estate. “Most buyers get excited when they have the opportunity to purchase land with trees, but may not know that those trees often represent a value component for real estate financing,” he says.

The species of the trees affects their value. “Large ponderosa pine, Douglas Fir, western larch (tamarack) and cedar typically represent the most value in the Northwest while white fir, “bull” pine and lodgepole pine are lower-valued products. There is also a cost to harvest and transport the resource, which oftentimes exceeds the value of the trees.”

The State of Oregon is also involved with a harvest tax and streamside regulations that impact value. “The best advice we as realtors can do is inform a buyer or seller of the potential value of the particular resource and let them decide how they want to approach it. At the Whitney Land Company we walk our clients through our knowledge base, then pull in experts to fine tune the values that they are looking at,” says Jellum.

Harvesting timber can be a messy proposition, or a good experience. “Selective harvesting of the resource can bring a new light to the possible opportunities. We recommend that you employ a realtor that has the knowledge and experience to help you wade through this issue.”