The Best Time to Plant A Tree
By Jim Palmer Jr.

This March I attended an annual community Crab Feed in Halfway Oregon, sponsored by the local Lions Club which my grandfather was a founding member of over a half century ago. He was instrumental in developing the adjoining park, including planting rows of small trees. As time has passed these small trees have grown into majestic and massive shade trees and now provide comfort for those who use that park in the summer months. The knowledge of that legacy has offered a great deal of satisfaction to me through the years, especially now that my grandfather is deceased.

Some years ago while visiting that same home town I cut a switch (stick) from one of the big weeping-willow trees my grandfather had planted in his yard there years prior. My intention was to plant this stick in the ground at my home near Loon Lake, perpetuating his legacy of planting trees. What if my grandpa had never planted those trees? I certainly wouldn’t have my willow tree now, or at least those memories of what happened underneath that big old tree.

It has been said that, “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today!” This phrase speaks to procrastination, which we all have the ability to cure today! Some of the best legacies I have seen are when real estate gets passed down to the next generation. In many cases, at ones passing, larger estates get broken into smaller parcels or even sold so the assets can be distributed to heirs, but sometimes they are passed along intact.

What if you were to procrastinate your purchase of real estate just because you think prices may come down some day? While it is true that real estate markets have ebbs and flows, the general trend for prices in the last hundred years has seen a steady upward trajectory. Some evidence of that growth can be seen in the outward urban sprawl that has affected most areas in the region.

Since they aren’t making any more land, the demand will continue to push prices upward. Even though we experienced a slight easing of that upward movement in 2023, it appears that trend is rising again. Now may be your chance to scrape out a start for your real estate legacy! If not, then at least go plant a tree and wait to see what it looks like twenty years from now!