This was the watchword at this week's Simi show in Paris. The real estate industry is entering a new cycle, one of transformation and reconversion rather than simple restructuring.
Transformation of assets first and foremost. Beyond the debates surrounding office bashing or the office apocalypse, the aim is to find a new life for those zombie buildings that are being emptied of their occupants or are only holding up thanks to one or two tenants. There is talk of 2 million m² of commercial wasteland, 9 million m² of unoccupied space, and over 5 million m² of vacant space in the Paris region.
In short, there are too many figures to give a clear picture of the market and quantify the volume of investment required for this major transformation. Investors have acknowledged that there is an overflow of obsolete office space, or that it is in the process of becoming so. The task now is to find operational solutions. The capital is there, as demonstrated by the latest fund-raising by Emerige and its new subsidiary Emetam.
But if we want to transform real estate to adapt it to demand, we're going to have to transform the models that still organize the real estate industry today. Above all, we need to loosen the straitjacket of standards that paralyzes this entire sector of the economy. During the three days of the show, we sensed the frustration not only of real estate operators, but also - and this is a little more new - of local authorities and elected representatives. And it's not because a large part of the French economy is in the same situation that we need to reassure ourselves.
The industry will also need a transformation of mentalities, which will first and foremost involve a different viewpoint on the part of public decision-makers. Real estate can no longer be confined to its role as a cash cow for tax purposes or a symbol of rent. It is a tool for the economy and jobs. It is also, and above all, an essential service for our fellow citizens. The slow-burning fuse of the social housing bomb has been lit for too long. And everyone knows it's going to explode.
Finally, the real estate industry also needs to undergo a revolution. From an economy of rents, it must move to an economy of uses. In this new cycle, we're going to have to go for performance with our teeth. We'll then have to ask questions about the level of IRR or the distribution of value creation. If there is any.