In France, the housing shortage is a serious issue, and the government is considering various policies to address this problem. Investors from around the world are now interested in the French real estate market.
Since the sale of public housing to the private sector last year, the French real estate market has begun to attract attention. A subsidiary of the French National Railway Company (SNCF) sold approximately 4,000 units (around 1.5 billion euros) of large residential assets to an institutional investor community.
The housing shortage for low- and middle-income groups in France is severe. One of the factors is the change in demographic composition. While there remains a significant gap between supply and demand, the demand for rental housing is rising, particularly among young people and workers.
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced last October that he would implement significant reforms in the management of state-owned real estate assets to address the issue. The timing is favorable, as institutional investors are flocking to residential housing in Europe. It is considered an asset that generates low-risk, highly reliable cash flow, and substantial investments have been made in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Poland, and elsewhere.
It can be said that the sale of housing assets by SNCF demonstrates a significant demand from overseas. Many off-market auctions include large American investment funds, such as Blackstone and Union Investment in Germany.
Currently, there are not many housing assets on the market, so many institutional investors are adding French housing development to their portfolios. Undoubtedly, housing development will be important for the future of the French real estate market.
Housing developments related to the large reconstruction project "Grand Paris" in the Paris metropolitan area have also attracted attention. New infrastructure, such as the subway (metro) network, will be developed, and areas that are currently less popular will attract attention and high demand in the coming years.