Housing crisis: big players sound the alarm about the housing situation - Agency Journal

The real estate market, both secondary and new construction, has been in an area of uncertainty in recent months. Economic uncertainty, difficulty in obtaining credit, rising interest rates, declining purchasing power, and insufficient production to meet demand are all signs of a coming housing crisis that several well-known personalities are warning about.

Madef President Joffroy Roux de Bezieu was the first to raise the alarm

He predicts a housing shortage disaster in France. The reason is the gap between the amount of affordable housing and demand. The number of affordable apartments expected in 2024 "will remain below 300,000" while 500,000 are needed each year. Roux de Beziers believes that housing should be the main issue of the quinquennium.

Véronique Bedag, CEO of Nexity and co-organizer of the National Council for Housing Reform

she spoke out in an interview with France Inter about the shortage of new housing for several years.

She emphasizes that "we are not building enough" and recalls that "the introduction of the war in Ukraine and the rise in interest rates have reduced the purchasing power of the French by 25%." It calls on the authorities to fully recognize "the housing crisis, which is a slow but sure poison" and masks "an extremely strong social crisis".

Daniel Dubrac, president of UNIS

In an interview with the program "Telematen" on France 2, she recalled the causes of the housing crisis: "the stoppage of construction", "the flight of tenants because of the energy label" and "blocked loans that prevent you from buying a home when you are young or not quite young enough to have access to accommodation". To solve France's housing problem, UNIS president calls on government to create private rented landlord status.

Alan Dufou, president of SNPI

He emphasizes that today the real estate activity is not only "because of the economic environment, but also because of the decisions taken by the government, as well as the lack of response of the state to support our activity". The Climate and Sustainability Act, whose provisions, according to the SNPI president, cannot be enforced in its present form, is also coming under criticism.

Now we wonder if Elizabeth Bourne's 100-day government action plan will help calm the actors in the real estate market. The First Minister said in a speech to the Cabinet on April 26 that she wants to "facilitate access to housing for all French people, especially in areas with a lack of supply." In this regard, the government intends to "invite banks to improve the availability of credit to the public, provide transparency on the evolution of the zero interest rate loan and use the Treasury to buy back new housing that is difficult to implement to unlock pending programs. "

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