Inviting developers and investors to a series of breakfasts is the best way that Stéphan de Faÿ, the general director of Grand Paris Aménagement (GPA), the main public developer in the Ile-de-France region, and Jean-Philippe Dugoin-Clément, its president, have found. , to take the pulse of professionals hit by a crisis announced two years ago, and to see how they could contribute, at their level, to limiting the damage.
The picture is not encouraging. In mid-January, Vinci Immobilier unveiled a job protection plan. Nexity, the sector leader, took the same path a month and a half later. On April 8, it was the turn of Bouygues Immobilier, after a period of voluntary departures, to formalize a reduction in workforce. The series should not continue. In 2024, the public establishment must triple its land marketing volume compared to the average of previous years. Without a developer or investor, the promised neighborhoods will not see the light of day.
From these ten coffee-croissant meetings organized at the start of the year, welcomed by the fifty professionals who participated, Stéphan de Faÿ retained nine measures applicable now, for operations deliverable in three or four years. The establishment’s board of directors adopted them on March 11, the eve of Mipim, the real estate high mass which is held each year in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes). Some relate to financial support, others to the simplification of procedures. All must allow “to reduce the price of housing for future residents by up to 6.75%”without the State or communities needing to intervene.
“Reduce financial costs”
The most unique proposal for a public establishment, in the opinion of Arnaud Anantharaman, general director of Coffim, former chief of staff to Emmanuelle Wargon when she was minister of housing, is the creation of a fund of 40 million euros with which GPA will support the promoters. Today, an operation is financed with a share of equity and a bank loan. The riskier the project, the higher the funds to be paid. In the context – rising interest rates, fewer buyers, very low margin – most developers have lost their financing capacity. To restart the machine, GPA therefore proposes to provide part of the equity capital − up to 50% −, but not exceeding 10% of the governance of the project.
You have 59.39% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.