Surveyors expect end of HIPs to drive sales
The suspension of Home Information Packs has led to more homes being put up for sale and will limit house price increases, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
RICS monthly survey found an increase of 10 per cent in the number of surveyors reporting rises in new instructions in May.
The institution believes the trend will continue and nearly three-quarters of surveyors believe the decision to abolish HIPs will lead to a higher number of sales.
Ian Perry, RICS spokesperson, said: ‘Surveyors are generally confident that sales will continue to pick up over the summer months.
‘The increase in supply as a result of the abolition of HIPs is helping to support this optimism despite continuing concerns about mortgage finance.
‘A higher level of instructions should meanwhile also lead to a flatter trend in house prices in the latter part of the year.’
HIPS, a set of documents giving buyers information about a property, were introduced in 2004 by the Labour government to try to reduce the number of abortive sales.
They were suspended by the new coalition government on 21 May and will be abolished.
Surveyors expect activity to rise in the coming months but the average number of completed sales fell from 28 per cent in April to 27 per cent in May.
Despite the increase in sales instructions, house prices edged up in May, with 22 per cent more surveyors reporting a rise than a fall in prices, an increase of three per cent on the previous month.
Prices are rising in most parts of the country, but have fallen in Northern Ireland, Wales, Yorkshire, Humberside and the west midlands.
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