Property developers fear a major housing crisis if the state does not act quickly and strongly

In 2021, sales of new homes were 12% lower than in 2019, at 147.112 homes.

Only bulk sales, mainly to social landlords, are progressing. The fall in sales to individual occupants is even more significant and worrying since it reached 18%.

These decreases are explained by a very low level of new housing sales, down 17% compared to 2019, a consequence of the Malthusianism of mayors accentuated by the drop in local authority resources. This scarcity of supply, combined with the rise in energy and raw material prices, leads de facto to an increase in housing prices of more than 5%.

Low-income and middle-class households are gradually being excluded from home ownership. Aware of this situation, 8 out of 10 French people consider that the current housing situation is bad in terms of cost (price per m2, conditions for borrowing) and that finding accommodation is an obstacle course.

On the other hand, once this test has passed, 8 out of 10 say they are satisfied with their accommodation in terms of brightness, total surface area or that of each of the rooms or even the layout of the space.

They are almost as numerous (7 out of 10 French people) to consider that it is necessary to build more housing while preserving the environment. To achieve this, nearly 7 out of 10 French people expect the public authorities to simplify administrative procedures.

On the strength of these lessons, FPI France considers that it is urgent to rehabilitate the act of building. To do this, the federation considers that land taxation should be reoriented in order to discourage land retention. It calls on public authorities to support and encourage mayors to issue building permits, in particular by establishing a positive density easement and by redistributing part of the real estate VAT to “builder” municipalities.

In order to facilitate the act of building, it is requested the implementation of a moratorium on standards and regulations.

For Pascal BOULANGER, President of FPI France: “If the public authorities do not act quickly and strongly, we are heading towards a major housing crisis in France. While collective housing responds to environmental and societal challenges, particularly in terms of energy and land sobriety, it has been forgotten over the past 5 years and continues to be so during this presidential campaign. The recommendations of the FPI France aim to relaunch the act of building in France, in order to give back to our fellow citizens the "power to live", essential to build their life projects. »