If on the one hand tenants complain about the rental tension and the rent levels charged in Haute-Savoie, landlords, for their part, deplore increasingly low net rental income.
Building up rental real estate assets in the department is increasingly complicated. At the origin of the problem, there are obviously real estate prices which have continued to increase in Haute-Savoie: “+18.2% between 2019 and 2024”, recalls Sébastien Cartier, president of the Savoie Mont Blanc National Real Estate Federation (FNAIM SMB).
A value of the stone which de facto burdens the potential rental yield. To which must be added heavier co-ownership charges for more than two years with the energy crisis.
But these are far from being the only reasons according to Sylvain Grataloup, president of the National Union of Real Estate Owners (UNPI): “Landlords are seeing more and more obstacles imposed on investment, while tax incentives are disappearing. »
More obligations, fewer incentives
Among the obstacles, he lists, pell-mell, the increase in property tax of 30% in 10 years, the constraints linked to the energy performance diagnosis (DPE), construction standards or even the lack of land which make increase the prices of new…
And less and less advantageous taxation“pushing owners to turn away from long-term rentals, which amplifies rental tension in the traditional market. »
At the end of the year, the Pinel rental investment scheme will end, sounding the death knell for 40 years of tax incentive policy which supported the production of new housing.
Au 1is January 2025, the ban on rental of housing with a class G DPE will come into force (for all new leases concluded from this date), if the new government does not change the timetable.
The concern is quite strong in Haute-Savoie, which has 20% of thermal strainers, with many owners already seeing themselves obliged to sell.
Next spring, these lessors may also have the unpleasant surprise of filing an income tax return with new unfavorable tax rules if the government actually cuts back, in its finance law for 2025, the last tax advantages linked to rental furnished.
“Yes, we can say it, some rental investors feel a feeling of persecution”we recognize on the side of the FNAIM SMB.
“Impoverishment of owners”
Despite Haute-Savoie rents being among the highest in France, the intertwining of national measures combined with the local context is enough to discourage rental investors.
A parliamentary report written by Renaissance MP Annaïg Le Meur on rental taxation, published this summer, also points out the low profitability of traditional rentals and calls for tax reform.
According to figures from FNAIM SMB, the average price for a purchase in Haute-Savoie is €4,475 per square meter and the average rent is €14.71 per square meter.
A landlord can therefore, theoretically, generate on average only 3.90% gross rental profitability.
In Annecy, with an average of €5,598 per square meter for purchase and €15.40 per square meter for rental, theoretical profitability drops to 3.30% gross.
“Property charges and taxes deducted, difficult to have a positive return”, deplores Sylvain Grataloup, who confirms “an impoverishment of the owners, who are not understood. In the overwhelming majority of cases, these are small owners who have made one or two investments for which they have credit, hoping to afford a slightly more comfortable retirement. Of course, an owner can become rich, but let's not forget that he takes the risk of going into debt, contributes to creating value and allows a new home to be put on the market. »
Resale success
Real estate agents also confirm this observation with “lessors who lament and end up selling”observes Sébastien Cartier, who nevertheless wishes to qualify: “Despite all these pitfalls, investing in Haute-Savoie remains a good investment. There are many arguments: the investor's worst enemy is rental vacancies. And in the department, it is extremely weak everywhere. »
Indeed, according to data compiled by FNAIM Savoie Mont Blanc, it is 0.90% in Annecy, 2% in Thonon-les-Bains, 2.50% in Annemasse or even 2.60% in Saint-Julien- en-Genevois, compared to 8.30% nationally.
A weighty argument that can reassure rental investors. “Rents also continue to increase, in particular because the area is populated by many cross-border workers capable of paying higher installments than elsewhere in France”adds the president.
Potential for added value
Without forgetting this other great strength of Haute-Savoie: the potential for real estate added value. “The success of an investment is judged over the long term and in particular upon resale. If you do not necessarily generate a lot of rental yield throughout the rental period, but the added value is significant, then it is worth buying in Haute-Savoie! As I often repeat: when there is a housing crisis in France, prices stagnate here. For a year, while the crisis has been severe, we have simply seen a slight decline over nine months, and prices are already starting to rise again”defends Sébastien Cartier.
While they fell by only -2% over one year, the FNAIM SMB is already pointing to an upward recovery over the last three months, at the end of September, with +0.50%.
So, from this point of view, it is true that real estate investment in Haute-Savoie represents excellent life insurance.
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