Social housing organisations, as defined by article L. 411-10 of the French building and housing code, represent 5,153,600 rental properties as of 1st January 2020, according to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition.
They differ from other residential housing organisations in France in that they serve the public interest, playing a social role with a much more human attitude. Their purpose is to provide accommodation for people with low incomes and improve access to housing.
The move towards a more professional management and analysis of social housing stock
Housing associations often have to deal with constant evolutions in the social and intermediate housing market. For example, many had to adapt both their structure and economic model in response to developments brought about by the Equality and Citizenship law in 2017 and the ELAN law in 2018.
According to Loeiz Bourdic, Director of PriceHubble France, one consequence of these regulatory changes on the social housing sector is that they result in more structured property management and financial processes. A transformation that can be felt in a wide range of areas, from sales and asset management to reports and financial communication.
Powerful digital tools especially designed for operating and managing housing stock can thus prove valuable in helping social housing organisations overcome their challenges. But what concrete applications can these tools truly offer?
Property analysis and management tools are already used in various areas:
Selling social or intermediate housing:
It makes perfect sense for social housing associations to use property valuation and analysis tools when selling social and intermediate housing. They allow them to make the most precise and accurate valuation for each unit based on the latest market movements, going beyond simple criteria like surface area and location. They can then apply a rebate and benefit from a purchase price list that’s in line with local market prices.
These specialist tools save precious time by giving organisations quick access to an accurate and granular price list for every social and intermediate housing property up for sale. And on top of drastically speeding up the time it takes to set prices for housing stock, they also make the entire process much more standardised.
When it comes to selling social and intermediate housing, these tools can:
- Generate a PDF report that sets out the price and the calculation method, 3 or 5 years after the analysis;
- Serve as a powerful communication and sales tool when exchanging with buyers, for example to justify a sale price;
- Help reach quicker agreement on a price list internally, using tangible elements, which can be approved by the various stakeholders.
Tracking market values for financial reports, both internal and external:
Property valuation tools also prove valuable for asset management when it comes to matters of reporting and financial communication. Why?
- They provide asset and operational management teams with a quick overview and deep insights of their entire housing stock, regardless of the number of properties. The result is a significant increase in productivity and efficiency;
- Teams can also use the tools to create transparent and precise financial reports, for both internal and external use;
- Lastly, they can be used for more specific matters, such as calculating revenue for corporate tax on intermediate housing.
Our solution Portfolio Manager is capable of loading thousands of units in just a few seconds. It then delivers deep insights for each unit or building: unit-by-unit valuations, comparable analyses, market statistics, socio-economic factors, transport links, ongoing projects, etc..
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