Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced Tuesday October 1 that the government is in favor of extending the zero-rate loan (PTZ) throughout the country for first-time buyers, as was the case a year ago.
This is an announcement that was eagerly awaited by the real estate sector. During his general policy speech, delivered to the National Assembly this Tuesday, October 1, Prime Minister Michel Barnier declared that the government is in favor of extending the zero-rate loan (PTZ) throughout the country for first-timers. -buyers, as was still the case a year ago. “In a crisis situation in the construction sector, we need rapid measures for access to property, particularly for first-time buyers.», justified the Prime Minister to the deputies.
As a reminder, PTZ is a device that allows first-time buyers to obtain a free loan (0% interest rate), with the aim of financing up to 50% of the amount of a real estate purchase. The interest on this additional loan is financed by the State. Since January 1, 2024, the maximum amount of the PTZ can reach 100,000 euros for the most modest households, compared to 80,000 euros previously. This system is reserved for households whose income does not exceed an income ceiling.
The bill will skyrocket for the State
But, to the great dismay of first-time buyers and the construction sector, the PTZ was refocused as part of the finance law for 2024. Thus, since this year, it is no longer intended only for borrowers who buy a new apartment in a tense area, where the supply of housing is much lower than demand. Individual homes are no longer eligible. In relaxed areas, the PTZ can only be granted to purchase old housing and on condition of carrying out heavy energy work (equivalent to at least 25% of the cost of acquiring the housing). The Prime Minister announced that the government will put an end to part of this refocusing, by allowing all eligible first-time buyers to benefit from the PTZ, regardless of the location of the property they wish to purchase, in a relaxed zone or in a zone tense. The government thus partially accesses the request of the French Building Federation (FFB) to return to a “universal PTZ”. Only partly because the FFB also wants individual houses to become eligible for the PTZ again.
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This measure would significantly expand the number of households eligible for PTZ. Because if, in theory, no less than 24 million households can claim this system according to the government, the criteria are currently so restrictive that only 47,260 PTZ have been set up by 2023 according to statistics from the Société de gestion des finances et of the guarantee of social access to property (SGFGAS), the organization responsible for managing the distribution of PTZ on behalf of the State. The extension of this assisted loan throughout the country for first-time buyers, which the government plans, would automatically increase the bill for the State, which has allocated a budget of 800 million euros to the PTZ in 2023.
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