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Suspension of Home Information Packs has seen property market pick up

Estate agents are reporting an increase in house sales since the suspension of Home Information Packs.

CITY estate agents are reporting a boom in sales following the suspension of the controversial Home Information Packs (Hips).
Universally loathed by the property industry, the legislation introduced by the previous Government required a seller to pay between 200 and 400 pounds for the packs - which contain property information, title deeds and local searches - prior to putting their property on the market.

While sellers are still required to produce an energy performance certificate for their home, Lincoln estate agents said the struggling housing market had been given a welcome boost following the removal of Hips on May 21.

Will Downing of estate agent Pygott and Crone in Lincoln said: "We sold more than 50 houses in Lincoln in April, which rose to 65 in May.

"So far in June, we've sold more than 30 homes.

"Hips were a complete waste of time and discouraged people from putting their house on the market. Partly due to the suspension, things are picking up."

"Hips were always a nonsense so getting rid of them has to help.

"One of the main things we have noticed is a lot more of the higher priced properties are going and that's because what people have forgotten is that we have amazingly low interest rates.

"So if you are fortunate enough to have security at work and want that extra room or larger garden then now is a good time."

Lincolnshire spokesman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Andy Hey said the housing market had been about to turn the corner for a while, helped by the suspension of Hips.

He said: "The idea of HIPs is quite a nice idea to help the housing market but the whole thing seemed to be invented by people who did not know what they were doing and they ended up being unhelpful.

Lincolnshire Echo