BTP: Need to cause a shake-up of proposals in the renovation sector.

Gregoire Leclerc points to the difficulties faced by construction industry players in accessing the market for older buildings. Although energy renovation has become a national priority, the measures provided by public authorities are not incentivizing enough. Grégoire Leclercq, executive director of the EBP Group, emphasizes the following issues: priority should be given to energy renovation; the obstacles created by the ZAN law.

All barometers confirm that the construction industry is slowing down!

All sectors from big construction to finishing, decorating or building... all sectors are under stress and following a real estate market that is experiencing big''difficulties.

The number of new dwellings built for private individuals

summer 2023, 16% below the average for the previous twelve months before the first quarantine! The situation worsened during the year. France saw 379,000 houses built, 150,000 fewer than in the previous twelve months, a decline of 27.9%. As for non-residential construction, they occupied 9.5 million square meters. Construction of 5.4 million square meters was launched, down 10.7% year-on-year.

Prioritize energy reconstruction

Is the myth of the cottage with a garden built by local craftsmen dead? Is it harder to get planning permission? Is there increased pressure on land and does this lead to''raising prices? First, it should be noted that individuals have reduced financing options, although the government agrees to revive savings products that incentivize real estate. This encourages 6 out of 10 owners to prioritize energy renovation work on their current home without considering building a new one.

The obstacles of the ZAN

At the same time, 4 out of 10 French people are thinking of leaving their current housing in favor of a more energy efficient or better suited to the environmental perspective. However, the ZAN or "net-zero artificial soil settlement" law is making it more difficult to build new homes. In fact, by 2050, its goal is to halve the consumption of natural, agricultural and forested areas. It also gives more power to municipalities to manage the land. Especially for the conservation of natural areas, soil restoration, identifying the value''existing buildings and the search for optimization of built-up areas. However, it also blocks opportunities for individual construction and commercial space, now referred to as the 'uglification of France'. Nevertheless, it provides an opportunity to return to city centers, which are often abandoned in favor of the outskirts. However, there is a softening of material costs and cash is recovering slightly among organizations with more than 10 employees and even more decisively among independent craft entrepreneurs. The state needs to be more ambitious and generate real demand to remedy the situation. The repair industry seems the obvious choice, and the construction industry is ready to respond.