Real estate professionals no longer know which foot to dance on. While the sector is currently going through a deep crisis – notably with an insufficient supply of housing and tensions on prices – the composition of the new Bayrou government is sending it contradictory signals. On the one hand, the arrival of Eric Lombard at the head of a large Bercy has something to reassure the various players. The Caisse des Dépôts, which he headed for seven years, supports the construction and renovation of the real estate portfolio and proves to be the leading financier of social housing in France. On several occasions, this former banker has spoken out about the problems facing the sector, putting forward avenues for reflection.
On the other hand, if Valérie Létard has indeed been reappointed to the Housing portfolio, she is no longer a full minister – a first in seven years – and falls to 30th rank in the order of protocol, while she occupied the 13th previously. This means that she will no longer automatically attend the council of ministers. A downgrade that raises questions, while strong decisions are expected. The appointment of the former UDI senator at the end of September was nevertheless unanimously welcomed by the profession. In particular, she negotiated the temporary extension of the zero-interest loan (PTZ) to the entire territory or the exemption from inheritance taxes and donations for new housing, as part of the 2025 finance bill.
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© / The Express
Limited room for maneuver?
After the censorship of the Barnier government, these measures remain pending. Will Valérie Létard have the same political weight to push her agenda with Bercy? Now attached to the new Minister of Regional Planning and Decentralization, François Rebsamen, she will no longer be in direct contact with Matignon. The former mayor of Dijon, however, has to his credit the writing, in 2021, of a report on the sustainable revival of housing construction.
It remains to be seen what Eric Lombard’s room for maneuver will be. Like his predecessor, he will have the difficult task of straightening out public finances and proposing a budget by mid-February. A glimmer of hope remains for the sector: in such a short time, the new team from the Ministry of the Economy will undoubtedly have to take over a large part of the previous project. Measures in favor of housing could thus be retained. If this were not the case, the French Building Federation anticipates that 100,000 jobs in the sector would be lost next year, after already 30,000 in 2024. François Bayrou’s government has been warned.