Hips not achieving what they set out to do

Permalink: Hips not achieving what they set out to do
by Kay Murchie

Estate agent, Hamptons International, has said that Home Information Packs (Hips) are not achieving what they set out to do nor are they enhancing the UK property market.

Hips were introduced to speed up the home buying and selling process as well as providing consumers with a faster and more cost effective service.

The Government said Hips would prevent gazumping - where the seller accepts a higher purchase offer, having already accepted another lower offer from another potential buyer.

Marc Goldberg of Hamptons said instead of speeding up the buying and selling process, the introduction of Hips has actually discouraged sellers from putting their properties on the market.

Hamptons established that new instructions are down across the country by 15% since the beginning of the roll-out of Hips last August.

Hips were launched on August 1 to include properties with 4-bedrooms or more and rolled-out to include 3-bedroom properties on September 10. They included all properties from December 14 last year.

In addition, Hamptons also discovered that in spite of Government saying energy performance certificates (EPCs) will reduce fuel bills in UK homes, energy efficiency is not a key consideration for most buyers when it comes to finding the right home.

The growing concern for the environment is yet to affect buying decisions within the property market today, particularly within London, added Mr Goldberg.

Mr Goldberg continued with affordability issues and so many people competing for every square inch of property, there just isn’t the luxury to search by carbon output.

From June 1, all properties offered for sale will require a Hip from the moment they are placed on the market, a change which could bring further disruption, say Hamptons.

The introduction of Hips was supposed to enhance the sales process, but this just hasn’t been the case, concluded Mr Goldberg.

Last week, Ipsos MORI, a multi-specialist research company, carried out a survey on Hips. 60% of buyers said they had not seen a Hip while another 24% said they saw the pack after they made an offer.

Approximately 370,000 Hips, costing between £300 and £350, have been issued since August.