Campaign themes are beginning to emerge, and there are several indications that housing construction will probably not be “top of the list”: there is a discourse about the need to slow down construction to better bridge equipment delays, to limit the climate impact of the housing sector, to prioritise renovation, to limit major urban projects, etc. In the background, we can read the temptation to make the quality of life of current inhabitants prevail over welcoming newcomers – as if the two were not reconcilable …
But the attractiveness of the metropolis, where our activity is concentrated, continues unabated, and over the next six years, it will be necessary to welcome new households. The pressure of demand will remain strong, and without a sufficient flow of new homes, prices will rise, on the new as on the old markets. Remember that the FPI Observatory has an average price of €4,459 / m2, excluding parking. With the supply pressures we are experiencing, it has increased by more than 5% since 2018, and by more than 10% in some major cities.
It is the role of the FPI to hammer this simple message: building a lot certainly does not guarantee lower prices, but building less guarantees their rise. We have no interest in this gentrification, and we must be the voice of affordable housing. For this, there is no authoritarian solution, such as the cap on sales prices, or miracle solution, as the SFOs, which for their usefulness may not be able to cover the entire territory, but a set of pragmatic solutions – starting with densification. It’s up to us to work on our projects, with the future mayors, to change their perception.
Alexandra François-Cuxac
President of the FPI France
Source: https://fpifrance.fr/actualites/municipales-2020-et-si-reparlait-logement-abordable