Timber Could Be Growth Industry If Housing Soars
For some reason, investors seem to be wary of stocks. It may be because bonds have beaten the stuffing out of stocks for the past 20 years. It may be the stream of scandals plaguing Wall Street. Or it may be that they are Facebook shareholders.
So today’s column is about timber. And, yes, there are stocks involved. But for those who want a true long-term timber investment, you’ll also get some tips on how to grow your own.
Timber tumbled, as you might expect, in the housing collapse. From February 2005 through February 2009, traders chopped lumber futures prices down 65%, according to Bloomberg.
Lumber is up about 93% since then, slightly less than the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. But there’s good reason to believe that timber will continue to grow, assuming the housing market improves.
And the housing market has been doing just that the past 12 months. New home starts have grown at a seasonally adjusted pace of 23.5% since June 2011.
From USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/waggon/story/2012-08-02/investing-lumber/56720870/1
1 Comment
Sabrina Garza
Housing needs can definitely turn the timber industry into one of the most lucrative deals ever. It’s so easy to get into timber investments nowadays, whether or not one would like to get involved in the stocks part of it. Teak forestry is gaining in popularity because the demand for hardwood products is starting to rise again. And, as someone in the comments in the article page pointed out, hardwood is exported, which adds to the worth and the revenue of the industry. It’s also a great way to get into becoming energy-efficient. Many successful companies nowadays are heading down that route anyway, and are buying and earning carbon credits and getting involved in forestry projects.
04 Sep 2012 01:09 pm