• The marketing of new homes in France fell by 16.8% in the third quarter of 2022, compared to the third quarter of 2021.
  • In Bordeaux Métropole, "everything has been almost halved since 2019, which remains the last year when the level was more or less normal," warns Gonzague Douniau, South-West Regional Manager of Bouygues Immobilier.
  • Land crisis, rejection of the population and... "Willingness of several communities to do less", the reasons for this collapse are numerous, points out the manufacturer.

"Collective housing is sinking inexorably, slowly but surely, into a deep crisis." Grégory Monod, president of the Housing Pole of the French Building Federation, which represents developers, house builders and developers, is concerned about the situation of new housing in France, after the publication of figures from the Ministry of Ecological Transition for the year 2022.

The marketing of new homes in France fell by 16.8% in the third quarter of 2022, compared to the third quarter of 2021, and remains below its pre-pandemic level. "It's not good at all, and unfortunately, what we predicted is happening," adds the president of the Pôle Habitat.

Nearly 5,000 euros per m2 in Gironde

Is the situation as worrying in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and in particular in the metropolis of Bordeaux? According to the South-West Real Estate Observatory (Oiso), net sales increased from 5,195 homes in 2018 to 2,795 in 2022, and the commercial supply of 4,903 homes to 3,076. Meanwhile, the price per m2 in new collective housing is trending the opposite: it went from 4,244 euros (still throughout the department) in 2018 to 4,951 euros at the end of 2022. If we zoom in on Bordeaux Métropole, net sales increased from 4,297 in 2018 to 2,180 in 2022, the commercial offer from 4,290 to 2,712, and prices from 4,224 euros to 4,951 euros per m2.

"It's quite simple, everything has almost halved since 2019, which remains the last year when the level was more or less normal," says Gonzague Douniau, Bouygues Immobilier's South-West regional manager. "We have a goal of 5,500 housing units per year across the metropolis, including 3,000 social housing, which we do not keep," admits Jean-Jacques Puyobrau, mayor of Floirac and vice-president of the metropolis in charge of housing. The year 2019 corresponds to the end of major real estate operations in the metropolis, since we are clearly on a downward phase, even if we hope for an improvement from 2023. »

"Two years to get a building permit, when it took eight months before"

Meanwhile, the attractiveness of the department is undeniable: 20,000 more inhabitants per year, including 12,000 who settle in the metropolis. To explain this production crisis, Gonzague Douniau highlights the rise in construction costs, the lack of land or the frustration of some inhabitants against densification.

"But there is also a desire of several communities, at the national level, to do less," he says. This is the case of the city of Bordeaux, which clearly shows a desire for degrowth, and it is generally the same situation on the metropolis with a few exceptions. We have just obtained two building permits on Talence and Carbon-Blanc, for projects initiated in 2020. It takes two years to get a building permit, whereas it used to take eight months. »

'Several projects blocked'

For Jean-Jacques Puyobrau, "there are different structural explanations for this situation, starting with an evolution in sociology: we now have an average of two people per dwelling in Bordeaux Métropole, which increases the need for production. There is also the scarcity of land, a brake that we are trying to remove with our land establishment, and by asking the State to mobilize public land. And I would point out that during the boom years, there were many tax-exempt products that did not help establish a residential path for our fellow citizens. In the city, the share of sales to investors increased from 56% in 2018 to 45% in 2022, to the benefit of owner-occupiers.

Is the city blocking projects? No, assures the elected official. "There are indeed several projects that are blocked, but for various reasons ranging from building permits that are struggling to come out for reasons of acceptability of the population, to the increase in construction costs, through the law on the environment which requires more permits. But we are studying all these projects to make them emerge as quickly as possible. »

"Putting an end" with this "metropolitan vision of spatial planning"

As a direct consequence of the situation: "We are seeing a shift [of demand] to the periphery of the metropolis, in Langon, Cestas, Léognan or Martillac," says Gonzague Douniau. For us, there is a lack of a vision of territory, which can lead to a social crisis," warns the professional. Jean-Jacques Puyobrau believes that it is necessary to "put an end" to this "metropolitan vision of spatial planning." "The metropolis cannot respond alone to this housing challenge, which is why we have initiated territorial cooperation initiatives. We need dynamic peri-urban and rural areas that can accommodate housing and employment. »



Finally, the city wants to accelerate on social housing. "That's why we lowered the threshold at which real estate transactions must contain social housing from 2,000 m2 to 1,000 m2 and now 500 m2." A false good idea according to Gonzague Douniau. "These new levels may simply prevent certain operations from taking place, because we will no longer be competitive. Result: rather than having 20 or 30% social housing on a residence of thirty units, there will be nothing at all. »

The only point of agreement: the need to build better. The charter of the frugal building adopted by the city of Bordeaux now seems digested by the builders. "It goes rather in the direction of history," admits the head of Bouygues.

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