While the first confinement had been marked by a "stunning effect" of potential buyers, and by an almost total interruption of the activity of the sector, the situation is different for this second confinement, explains on Europe 1 Guillaume Autier, General Manager of Meilleurtaux.com.

ANALYSIS

While the confinement of last spring, marked by the interruption of a large part of the activity, had seriously impacted the real estate sector, should we fear the same consequences with the re-containment currently in force?

This is the question answered on Tuesday Guillaume Autier, Managing Director of Meilleurtaux.com, guest of

La France bouge

, on Europe 1. According to this expert, the drop in demand from buyers on his site is certainly down, but less than during the first confinement. 

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"The situation is quite different" from last spring, he notes, for two main reasons.

First of all, "the notaries and the banks continue to work, which means that the projects started before the reconfinement can continue".

However, he continues, during the first confinement, "this was not the case. The whole chain had been interrupted".

A "much smaller" drop in requests

For this new confinement, the preparation of the main actors was also better, while on the side of individuals, while "there was a phenomenon of astonishment during the first confinement, and people had stopped looking at the projects there , we see a slight drop in new projects, but much less ".

This difference can be seen by examining the details of the requests to Meilleurstaux.com.

In March, "the first week was quite violent, with a drop in requests of about 50%", explains Guillaume Autier.

"There, we have a decrease, but much less strong, of the order of 15 to 20%, and which in addition is reabsorbed", he says again.

"People stay focused on their project"

"People remain focused on their project", analyzes the guest from Europe 1. "Real estate projects are the projects of a lifetime, and we do not give up a project of this type because of confinement".

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However, the strict restriction on travel currently in place will necessarily have an impact on the number of sales.

While, for their part, the notaries predicted 900,000 sales for 2020, should we anticipate a drop in this prediction?

This announced figure, first of all recalls Guillaume Autier, is already lower than that of previous years.

According to him, "it should probably not go down, if we consider that the confinement lasts the announced duration. But if it is extended, it will be a little different".

And to conclude: "If it's four weeks, the impact will probably be moderate. If it's two months, it will be stronger."