Registration Document BOUYGUES

RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTY: BOUYGUES
IMMOBILIER WINS NEW
MARKET SHARE
The residential property market in France contracted
by 10% in 2011 (103,300 units reserved,
compared with 115,400 in 2010). The decline was
mainly due to a fall in reservations by private investors,
especially in the first half of the year, following
changes to the Scellier tax incentive (reduction in
tax deductibility from 25% to 22%, restriction to
low-energy buildings, etc.). The economic gloom
of 2010 was compounded in 2011 by a Europewide
budget crisis, which led to a cutback in tax
incentives for investment in property and made it
harder for private individuals to get a home loan.
Against this turbulent background, Bouygues
Immobilier retained its leading position on the
French residential property market. Taking 14,314
reservations in 2011, 4% more than in 2010, a
record year, Bouygues Immobilier increased its
ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF
HOUSING UNITS DELIVERED IN 2011
VHEP
25%
LEB
9%
HEP
66%
HEP: High Energy Performance (RT 2005 -10 %)
VHEP: Very High Energy Performance (RT 2005 -20 %)
LEB: Low-Energy Building (50 kWhpe/m 2 /year, weighted
according to climate zone and altitude)
Source: Bouygues Immobilier
market share to 13.9%, compared with 11.9% in
2010. The total value of residential property reservations
in France in 2011 amounted to €2,361 million,
6% more than in 2010. A particularly vigorous
commercial performance in 2011 shows that
Bouygues Immobilier was right to adopt an entrylevel
and mid-range positioning and a strategy of
constantly adapting to new customer demands in
terms not only of products but also of price and
customer support.
Sales to owner-occupiers accounted for about 22%
of activity in 2011, with sales to private investors
representing 48% and block sales to social landlords
the remaining 30%.
Particularly dynamic
marketing in the second
half of the year
Having shadowed the 20% drop on the market
in the first half of the year, Bouygues Immobilier
was able to step up its offerings in the second
half as a result of the proactive land acquisition
policy launched in 2010. The policy enabled the
company to take advantage of the situation when
private investors returned to the market in order to
benefit from the Scellier tax incentive in the last four
months before tax deductibility was lowered to 13%
in 2012. As in 2010, Bouygues Immobilier was able
to demonstrate its capacity to adapt to changing
markets and its commercial effectiveness, giving
it a lead over its main rivals.
Bouygues Immobilier chalked up a number of
significant marketing successes during the year,
with the rapid sell-off of programmes such as Vert
de Ville in Bois-Colombes, Eurêka in Suresnes,
21 Rue Verte in Rouen, CitiZen in Strasbourg, Villa
Caroline in Ermont, Carré 36 in Annecy, Baïopolis
in Bayonne, Aix Natura in Aix-en-Provence and
Oxygène in Saint-Raphaël. Marketing of the
second phase of the Ginko eco-neighbourhood
on Bordeaux Lake was also highly successful:
250 apartments were sold, including 150 in unit
sales and 100 in a block sale.
Encouraging first-time
ownership
Another feature of activity in the residential property
segment in 2011 was the number of sales to
first-time buyers of units in programmes built in
urban regeneration zones, where the lower 5.5%
rate of VAT (sales tax) applies. Over 2,500 units
in such zones were sold. In view of price rises
of 5-6% on the property market over the year,
especially in areas where pressure on housing is
acute, affordably-priced programmes of this type
of have been highly successful. By combining the
advantages of urban regeneration zones, where
the cost of land is reasonable, with optimised
design/build methods, Bouygues Immobilier was
able to market apartments at €2,000 incl. VAT per
m² at Saint-Fons, near Lyon.
Bouygues Immobilier has also signed a charter
with a number of local authorities under which
it commits to controlling prices and the cost of
land, thus limiting the rise in prices for collective
housing. Bouygues Immobilier has entered into
such arrangements with the municipal authorities
of Rennes, Saint-Denis, Montreuil and Saint-Ouen
among others.
The landmark delivery of the first 250 units of the
Valnaturéal programme in the north of Marseille,
sold off in a few days, was another highlight
of 2011. The new eco-neighbourhood will ultimately
comprise 950 housing units with Habitat &
Environment (H&E) certification, including 330 twoto
five-room apartments for first-time buyers, 310
social housing units, a residence for students and
young workers and a care home for the dependent
elderly. Valnaturéal qualifies for home-ownership
support measures, including 5.5% VAT (it is within
an urban regeneration zone), a first-home cheque
from the city of Marseille and other incentives such
as the Pass-Foncier Collectif ® scheme. The combined
effect of all these measures has yielded an
attractive average price of €2,350 incl. VAT per m².
Detached houses
In 2011, following the creation of the new Housing
France department, Bouygues Immobilier introduced
a new range of low-energy detached
houses, including affordably-priced, wood-frame
houses (€159,000 incl. VAT for 74 m²) particularly
well-suited to young, first-time buyers.
The strategy of re-entering the market for detached
houses was rewarded in 2011 by the conclusion
of a preliminary agreement, in partnership with
SNI (France’s leading social landlord and subsidiary
of Caisse des Dépôts), for the delivery of
3,000 homes within four years to house employees
of EDF, the electricity utility. The agreement concerns
the development of 200 real-estate projects
around EDF production sites. SNI will be the investor
and the landlord for a renewable 12-year period.
Bouygues Immobilier intends to expand further on
this buoyant market.
Noveom, a new generation
of adaptable serviced
residences
In November 2011, Bouygues Immobilier launched
Noveom, a new generation of adaptable serviced
BOUYGUES • 2011 Registration Document • BUSINESS ACTIVITIES AND CSR • Bouygues Immobilier • 74