Le Figaro Lyon
While real estate developers were alarmed yesterday by a 45% drop in reservations for new housing over the past year, the environmentalist metropolis announced this Tuesday the first positive results of its 10 million euro emergency plan. .
An envelope which is added to the 518 million already earmarked for housing on the mandate.
Launched at the beginning of October, this emergency fund has already supported 49 real estate operations, or 3,020 housing units, including 833 social housing units.
With a simple public action lever which consists of offering opportunities to construction sites, by buying up vacant housing.
Either by collecting unsold items on delivery, or by reserving them before work starts.
Redemptions carried out through social landlords, Foncière Solidaire du Grand Lyon or intermediate rental housing operators.
“A few months after its activation, the measure is bearing its first fruits with around fifty sustained operations
,” welcomes the environmentalist executive.
These are 20 programs which have seen their marketing finalized since October and 29 others whose work will be able to begin, after having registered enough orders.
And the metropolis adds that 43 other operations are being studied, for a total of 2,300 housing units, including 550 social ones.
“A catastrophic year”
A welcome boost for the sector, which took stock of a sad year precisely this Tuesday evening.
“2023 is a catastrophic year: the supply and demand crises have seriously worsened in the Lyon metropolitan area, with a drop of more than 40% in reservations and sales
,” insists the Federation of Real Estate Developers. (FPI) of the Rhône.
“
It is no longer just a question of saving a sector with all its actors, companies, project management, notaries, developers... but of putting an end to this sclerosing spiral which for 5 years has frozen the housing market”,
supported its president Philippe Layec.
Also read “Whatever the income, there is no more housing”: in Lyon, the tenants’ struggle
“We need to build more housing, free access, social housing or real solidarity leases, which are real defenses against the housing crisis,”
recognized Bruno Bernard (EELV), president of Greater Lyon.
The emergency plan is also a support tool for the economic sector of real estate development and construction: jobs will be saved and order books will be able to be filled.”
The developers welcome this, as well as the decision of the prefect of the Rhône, Fabienne Buccio, to take over town planning powers in 7 municipalities with a serious shortage of social housing.
The FPI nevertheless underlines its concern regarding building authorizations in the metropolis.
“
There are 16 municipalities without a single supply of new housing and 26 municipalities if we set the threshold at 10 housing units
,” say the developers, who, like an entire sector, hope for an improvement in 2024 with the ongoing decline in interest rates for real estate loans.