Sale of four-bedroom homes down after HIPs introduced

4:37pm Monday 10th September 2007

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The number of four-bedroom houses on the market has slumped since the introduction of home information packs.

But estate agents in Sussex said today it was too early to conclude the controversial scheme has sparked the fall, as the second phase of the HIPs initiative came into force.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has warned that the three bedroom market is likely to suffer after the new pack scheme was widened today to include homes of that size.

But experts in Brighton and Hove said although the number of properties on the market had been on the wane over the last few months, rising interest rates and the sleepy summer months could also be the cause.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive at the NAEA, said: "Our concerns have always been that the introduction of HIPs would lead to a lack of supply following implementation.

"This does indeed seem to be the case with four bedroom homes and is now likely to be replicated in the three bedroom homes market.

"The next few months will prove crucial in seeing whether HIPs are going to cause the sort of problems we feared."

The average price being paid for a HIP has been £350 since the scheme first came into force on August 1.

The association's latest survey of members has revealed the number of four bedroom plus properties on the market decreased in many areas.

Almost two-thirds of estate agents reported decreases in the number of larger properties on their books over and above the seasonal norm.

Charles Hendry, MP for Wealden, expressed concern about the extension of the Government's HIPs scheme.

He said: "The Government is once again engaging in adding pointless red tape where it is not needed or wanted and will only end up causing more headaches and expense for home-owners who already have enough to deal with when trying to sell their homes.

"Moving home is one of the most stressful things anyone can do.

"This new red tape threatens to make it worse, not better, for people in Brighton and Hove, and across the South East.

"Rather than protecting house buyers, these ill conceived and costly new regulations will cause public confusion and undermine the stability of the housing market.

"In a fragile housing market, these packs could prove disastrous."

John Healy, of Hove-based estate agents Healy and Newsom, said although there had been a downturn in business, it was too early to point the finger at HIPs.

But he added that the information was virtually useless for vast areas of Brighton and Hove.

The energy efficient details, seen as the most innovative section to the document, cannot be implemented for many flats and homes in the city which are in conservation areas or listed buildings.

He said: "Introducing it in the summer was the worst possible time and we have had only one sale.

"We have felt a changing market for the last two or three months as people are being a bit more careful.

"But I think interest rates have had more of an effect than HIPs.

"I think HIPs have got their use but in Brighton and Hove there are so many properties which are Grade I or Grade II that the energy efficient report is useless."

Hugh Tucknott, president of the Brighton and Hove Estate Agents, criticised the Government's staggered introduction of HIPs He said: "We have only had one four bedroom since the introduction of HIPs but only time will tell whether HIPs are responsible."

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