Hips effect on housing market unclear
Home Information Packs (Hips) are not the only cause of the slump in the housing market, according to an industry expert.
Comments by the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (Ahipp) come in response to Rightmove’s house price index, published today.
This will be particularly reassuring to those professionals seeking four bedroom properties, with a 42 per cent increase in the number on the market over August.
Mike Ockenden, director general of Ahipps, said that although the report suggested Hips had a distorting effect on the market, they don’t seem to be the cause of lower prices.
He said: “The data also suggests that listings of four bedroom properties are already returning to more normal levels, a trend which will no doubt be repeated with three bedroom homes over the next few weeks.”
He added that sales of homes up to £250,000 in June 2007 had already dropped 20 per cent, two months before Hips were introduced.
The news comes as Peter Williams, executive director of the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) commented that the problem with the UK mortgage market is a “lack of confidence”.
This may well reassure professionals with a mortgage that despite the introduction of Hips the market could just be suffering from temporary consumer fears.
