Hips will put off sellers
April 30, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The introduction of home information packs (Hips) to the UK housing market is likely to reduce the number of properties sold.
That is according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) which says the ’see what happens’ seller is likely to become a thing of the past.
Research shows that around 20 per cent of homeowners, who were not even considering selling their home, have been tempted to put their house on the market after seeing their neighbour get a good price for theirs.
However, the NAEA believes that with Hips set to become a mandatory part of any sale from 1st June this year, this type of seller will be put off – adversely affecting those trying to get a mortgage on a property.
It is going to cost up to £500 to obtain a Hip and this may prove to be too costly for a homeowner who is merely interested in finding out how much their home is worth.
“A significant percentage of sales that go through start with a seller testing the water,” explained Peter King, the NAEA’s chief executive.
“The lack of ability to do this without paying for a Hip first is likely to put many sellers off.
“This will reduce the supply of houses available, cause the market to slow down and lead to additional house price inflation. Both these factors could adversely affect the economy,” he added.
The NAEA is calling upon the government to back down over the introduction of Hips.
