Le viager en France: Un dispositif au service du développement des territoires vieillissants ?

In France, the wealth of residential property held by retirees is estimated at around 1 trillion euros and is spatially more homogeneous than the total residential wealth. On the contrary, the viager market is both very small (0.2 % of retirees' total residential capital) and spatially very concentrated – Paris represents one-third of it. Based on this paradox, the article hypothesizes an undervalued potential of the profitability of viager outside metropolitan areas, particularly in rural areas. Analyzing a database provided by the agency Renée Costes Viager, the leader in viager in France, the article shows that the profitability of most of the departments is positive and exceeds 10 % for a great number of them. While some rural areas sit on heaps of heritage gold, they benefit from this in no way because of the underdevelopment of viager. However, enhancing the dormant real estate wealth of rural areas would support local development via a real estate policy that would not be just urban, but also regional and rural. This development policy via the encouragement of viager would not be based on costly financial transfers, as is the case for most real estate aid policies, but would be based on the mobilization of an already existing wealth. The article concludes with a call for fiscal support for viager – especially in declining rural areas where the system is profitable – in order to free up these areas' full potential at the prospect of regional and rural development of ageing territories in need of resources. Economically profitable, socially and politically virtuous, viager would then be an interesting solution for the development of rural areas weakened by ageing populations and a disengagement of the public power as well as private actors.