78% believe Hips are overpriced

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by Kay Murchie

Home Information Packs (Hips) were introduced for 4-bedroom properties on August 1st and rolled-out to include 3-bedroom properties on September 10th. They currently cover around 63% of housing stock in England and Wales.

However, according to research carried out by mortgage broker London & Country (L&C), at least 78% of homeowners think Hips are not worth the average cost of £300 to £350.

95% of these questioned were aware of Hips but only 62% felt the information they contained offered no tangible benefit when selling a property. However, it is still early days for the packs and they only cover 63% of housing stock commented James Cotton at L&C.

At the party conference earlier this week, the Conservative party pledged to scrapped Hips should they win the next election but the government has been quick to leap to their defence.

However, L&C recently discovered that nearly 70% of homeowners are keen to make alterations to their property arising from the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) included in a Hip.

L&C concluded that a reduction in the cost of Hips may arise as they become more widespread and people’s attitudes improve.