I'm going to be building a new home on 22 acres of forested property in the very near future. The terrain is rugged, lots of brush, many many trees and a lot of loose rock. the avg slope is about 15%. The house will be about 1/4mi from the main road.
I'm going to need a tractor for the following reasons:
1. Push/Blow Snow
2. Collect/Move Rock (Mostly fist to basketball size but the occasional Laundry Basket size)
3. Move felled timber
4. Maintenance of stone driveway
5. General Landscaping - but I will not be cutting grass with it
6. Moving Heavy objects from front to rear of house (max 1000lbs)
7. Probably a lot of stuff I don't realize yet
You are in a remarkably similar situation as I was/am. I'll tell you what I bought, and what I would buy if I were to do it again.
My uses for the tractor are similar to yours, and I've done some of it, but have a lot left to do. I just purchased 31 acres of sloping land, although not nearly as much as yours. My building site is 8-12% and less in some areas but more in others.
First and foremost. You will need to use your front end loader (FEL) A LOT! You don't want to go without one. I honestly can say that no matter what you buy, figure in the cost of a FEL grapple. After clearing some trees and brush and getting some time under my belt, I would not go without one of these. They are a lot more useful than the bucket when it comes to woods work. I took my bucket off my tractor in (I believe) June of last year, after making some raised bed gardens. It hasn't been back on since.
I do a lot of tree clearing, brush removal/piling, log skidding, and box blading. My ideal, go-to setup, is the grapple on the front end, and the box blade on the back end.
Think about what you'll want to lift, you mentioned about 1,000lbs max around the house, but start getting into land clearing and tree removal and you'll easily and routinely run into logs well over 1,000lbs if you have any decent sized trees. Of course you can cut them smaller/shorter, but depending on what you want to do with your woodworking then you may not be able to. It is also much more efficient to keep them as large as possible.
The slopes are going to be your main factor there, I can't help much with that.
I chose a Kubota L4610 with FEL and added front and rear hydraulics. This is a 45hp tractor, 4x4, and I had to fill the tires with
ballast, as well as keep my 1,000lb box blade on the back. I went with this tractor because I got a good deal on it and it was very low hours, stored inside, and in great condition. I wouldn't go new if you can avoid it, but that's just me. By not being able to avoid it, I mean you either need financing, or you haven't bought many used items before, because there are definitely things to look for in used items in general that will indicate whether a tractor is cared for or not. I routinely see a lot of really nice cab tractors for significant amount cheaper than new, enough to buy yourself an older full sized backhoe in addition to your used tractor.
Keep in mind the lift capacity of the FEL. If I were to buy again, which I will eventually, I would go (almost certainly) with a larger capacity lift. I also most likely won't go with Kubota again, although that is only because of personal preference and ergonomics, the tractor itself as performed flawlessly and is an excellent tractor. I looked for a JD, Kubota, or NH when I was looking, I just bought the best used one I found at the time. Now that I know more, I would take a good look at the smaller brands.
Whatever you buy, buy a grapple. The best/nicest tractor in the world, is virtually useless without attachments/implements, so factor in the cost of the implements you will want/need/use.
If you go with HST you probably won't go back (this is the one thing that may keep me from going with a larger tractor) however, if you never have it in the first place, you won't miss it.
Some pics of grapple use here:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/211635-grappling-fun-picture-thread.html
I wouldn't use anything smaller than the tractor I have, both power or frame size. Try to get something equal to, or larger than, an L series Kubota, 4x20 series Deere, or the equivalent of any other model.