New housing is still in turmoil. “These are not the great evenings, sales volumes of new individual houses are not taking off again . We have reached the end of what companies have been able to do in the face of this unprecedented crisis», alarms Grégory Monod, president of the Pôle Habitat FFB (French Building Federation), the main union of builders of individual houses, during a press conference during a technical seminar, in Riga, Latvia. “Help yourself, the State won't help yous,” he mocks. The figures are worrying: house builders and developers have lost 25,000 jobs in a year and a half, according to figures from the Pôle Habitat. “And not just small companies, large healthy companies also find themselves in the eye of the storm», he warns. New housing players will look for other markets, theirs being in a state of suffocation. They are positioning themselves on the renovation market for example. “The drop in new home construction impacts all building sectors», assures the president of the Pôle Habitat FFB.
The French Building Federation, however, sees a glimmer of hope appearing on the horizon. Individual houses would make their comeback in the zero-rate loan (PTZ) system from 2025. They were excluded from the PTZ, only collective housing was concerned, in 2024. This modification, “a great victory», according to the president of the Pôle Habitat FFB, would make it possible to build 15,000 additional new homes in 2025. In addition, the PTZ would be extended to the entire territory. “We feel that ministries are being listened to. It's not just communication. When Michel Barnier talks about the PTZ it is because he has understood something. We really feel that there is a change», notes the president of the Pôle Habitat FFB. It notes a 70% fall in the PTZ in April 2024 “as soon as we have excluded the individual house from the system».
Towards an exemption for donations?
The Pôle Habitat FFB suggests exempting donations if they are directed towards new construction. And not only donations in the form of money but also of building land. And not just from parents to children but also from an uncle or aunt to a nephew or niece. For example, grandparents who give a piece of land or garden to grandchildren could see their donation exempt. “Exempting donations in the context of an investment or a main residence is non-revenue, it is not an expense», Says Grégory Monod who wants to reassure the government.
The latter is also reportedly working on an exemption from inheritance and/or gift taxes in order to encourage the French to buy new homes. The Minister of Housing is in favor of it. Any person purchasing a new home, within 12 months from the date of entry into force of the measure, would be exempt from gift tax, up to a maximum of 150,000 euros (compared to 100,000 euros currently for donations to children) per donee and per donor. However, this would be a temporary measure. Grégory Monod also deplores “that no tax status is planned to take over from Pinel“. The end of this system, which allows investors to benefit from a tax reduction, is scheduled for December 31, 2024. No boost in sight for the moment, in place of the PTZ.
