2023-06-04 19:02:36
Housing is the first item of expenditure for the French, and the most worrying at the moment. This Monday, Élisabeth Borne, the Prime Minister, will present the measures she wishes to maintain at the end of the National Council for Refoundation (CNR) dedicated to the subject, in the presence of Olivier Klein, the Minister Delegate for the City and the Housing, and François Bayrou, secretary general of the CNR.
Announcements that had been postponed and will be closely scrutinized by the sector, while all the indicators are red. “We have been alerting for five years to the consequences of the choices of successive governments”, storm Emmanuelle Cosse, president of the Social Union for Housing (USH) and former Minister of Housing under François Hollande. “The situation is differentiated according to the territories, but it is true that the tense zones are multiplying”, recognizes Matignon. The first alarm relates to the construction of new housing: at the end of March, the number of authorizations for new housing issued in one year had fallen by 11.5%, according to data from the Ministry of Ecological Transition. In question: an increase in construction costs and “the reluctance of certain mayors to build on their territory”, explains Christophe Robert, general delegate of the Abbé-Pierre Foundation. And who says less new housing, says fewer owners.
Soaring interest rates pushed sales down
But this is not the only obstacle to home ownership in recent years. The average interest rate on mortgages exceeded the 3% mark in March, for the first time since 2014, according to Crédit Logement. This has reduced the borrowing capacity of households. For those who have only a small contribution, becoming an owner has simply become impossible. “Buyers no longer get their loan, where transactions are delayed while waiting for a better situation,” observes Emmanuelle Cosse.
The rental market also seems completely blocked. “The supply of moderately priced accommodation has dried up, in particular due to the sharp increase in tourist rentals. Income generated by seasonal rentals can benefit from a reduction of up to 71% of the amounts collected, whereas it is only 30% for a traditional rental,” emphasizes Christophe Robert. A context of tension that pushes private tenants to stand still. And for some to turn to the social park.
The waiting list for social housing is growing
The number of households waiting for social housing reached 2.4 million in 2022 (+ 7% compared to 2021), according to the Social Union for Housing. However, social landlords have seen their financial means reduced in recent years, and can build less: “They have suffered the full brunt of the reduction in APL, the increase in VAT on new production, the puncture operated annually by the State on their budget…”, recalls Christophe Robert. “When we deteriorate the situation of HLM organizations, it may not be seen in the first year. But following five years, we have diminished our ability to invest and therefore to house our most modest fellow citizens,” criticizes Emmanuelle Cosse.
This shows how great the expectations of real estate players vis-à-vis the CNR are. “The State must set a course, allocate aid and set objectives,” argues Christophe Robert. “It is up to the government to show if it finally wants to take a serious interest in the first constrained item of expenditure for the French. The state must come back into the game, both financially and as a pilot. We need a clear course, on interest rates for example, and stability in supporting social housing,” adds Emmanuelle Cosse.
Waiting will not be tolerated
Several measures might breathe new life into the sector and the French in search of a better place to live. The Prime Minister will announce “the extension of the zero-rate loan for first-time buyers until 2027”, tells us Matignon. But also “the facilitation of the sale of HLM to social housing tenants, the development of intermediate housing, the extension of the visa guarantee, additional means to rehabilitate wasteland, the purchase by the State of 50,000 housing units from real estate developers…”, enumerates the entourage of Elisabeth Borne.
It remains to be seen whether these measures will satisfy housing players who were also calling for new tax provisions to regulate seasonal rentals, a tax deduction for loan interest for first-time buyers, aid for mayor builders, a reduction in the tax on the budget of HLM organizations, the extension of the rent control, the return to a VAT rate reduced to 5.5% on all new social housing constructions… “The urgency is there, we need concrete answers” , insists Christophe Robert.
1685909161
#housing #crisis #worsened #years
