2024 a catastrophic year for real estate developers, but hope for 2025

The year 2024 was the worst "in fifty years" for the activity of developers, particularly concerning the number of housing units reserved, Pascal Boulanger explained to AFP.

Last year, the number of building permits issued in France fell to its lowest level since at least 2015, to 330.400, down 12,3% from 2023, which was already very low, according to provisional government data published in late January. This level is 28% lower than in the twelve months preceding the health crisis.

"Everything is halved: authorizations, building permits and sales," added the president of the FPI. According to its annual report published Thursday, fewer than 10.000 homes were put up for sale in the fourth quarter in France and some 50.589 during the year 2024, a drop of 30,6% compared to 2023, and more than 50% compared to 2022.

This situation has serious consequences for the profession, which is facing a "massacre", according to Pascal Boulanger.

"We went from around 32.000 employees to less than 27.000 over two years (...) and for several months, we have seen developers in receivership, funds invested in buildings (...) which are not selling," he explained.

Pascal Boulanger now hopes that 2025 will bring a return to better economic conditions, both for developers and the housing sector. The drop in interest rates, "banks that are very keen to lend", and "especially the good provisions in the finance bill" are sources of optimism for him.

He is concerned that the country has "increasing needs" for housing "and fewer and fewer building permits."

"When employees do not dare to change jobs for a better job, because they are afraid of not finding housing, we are really in a societal crisis, much more serious than the crisis of developers," concluded the president of the FPI.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.