Karin Kolis, Juhana Hiironen, Esa Ärölä, Arvo Vitikainen. (2014). Effects of sale-specific factors on stumpage prices in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 48 no. 3 article id 1054. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.1054

Keywords: pulpwood; timber trade; standing timber sales; hedonic price; sawlogs; non-industrial forest owners

Highlights: Data on 4824 individual sales were used to estimate which factors affect stumpage prices; The time of sale, seasonal harvest restrictions, the location and the assortment affected prices; Larger total volumes and shorter forest haulage distances raised unit prices; A higher percentage of the assortment and percentage of sawlogs within the sale corresponded to higher prices.

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Buyers of standing timber take not only the market situation but also the harvest costs into consideration when making purchase offers. In Finland, 85% of all timber is sold as standing timber, but there is little information for forest owners and third parties regarding how differences in harvest costs are reflected in the stumpage prices. This article analyses the relationship between sale-specific factors and stumpage prices in Finland. Data on 4824 standing timber sales between 2008 and 2012 were gathered from five local Forest Management Associations. Regression analyses were run on the stumpage prices (euros m^–3) paid for sawlogs and pulpwood. Seasonal harvest restrictions, the volume of the sale and the timber assortment influenced stumpage prices, as did the presence of forest damages. Prices also differed over time and between locations. Furthermore, the forest haulage distance was statistically significant for pulpwood. The results suggest that the size of the individual sales and the composition of assortments affect the income owners earn from their forest. The results can be used to estimate stumpage prices and the monetary impacts on forest owners of procedures such as forest road network planning and land consolidation, as well as for valuation of forests.

Kolis, Aalto University, Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland E-mail: karin.kolis@aalto.fi
Hiironen, Aalto University, Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland E-mail: juhana.hiironen@aalto.fi
Ärölä, National Land Survey of Finland, Production Support Services, P.O. Box 84, FI-00521 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: esa.arola@nls.fi
Vitikainen, Aalto University, Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics, P.O. Box 12200, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland E-mail: arvo.vitikainen@aalto.fi

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