With June 1 approaching fast, a new survey has revealed widespread confusion over the content of HIPs …

A new survey by Propertyfinder.com revealed that three fifths of buyers expect to receive at least a home condition report, and two fifths expect a full structural survey.  They will be disappointed.   Most people correctly picked the energy performance certificate, but astonishingly less than half of buyers expected evidence of title or a search, the two key legal documents in the pack.  

Furthermore, only a quarter of the general public actually knew what HIP stood for, with the survey revealing that most people interviewed believed HIP meant ‘Homeland Immigration Policy’.

Warren Bright, chief executive of propertyfinder.com said:

`The level of ignorance in the general public is astonishing given the publicity HIPs have had over the last year, but at least most buyers and sellers have heard of them, even though they have little clue of what will actually be in the pack”.

Tight summer supply and problems for buyers

In propertyfinder’s April survey of estate agents, 57% reported an increase in the number of instructions they had received, while 43% said instructions had fallen or stayed the same. The number of properties propertyfinder.com listed in the last week of April was 5.4% higher than the number listed in the first week. 

Both these statistics are in line with normal seasonal patterns in the housing market.  Furthermore, given that 93% of sellers knew that sellers will have to pay for a HIP and yet still supply has not increased beyond normal; there is nothing to suggest sellers are rushing to beat the deadline.

Warren Bright continued:

“Supply has been extremely tight in the housing market for months now, but come June 1^st, the number of homes coming onto the market will go into a tailspin as agents and sellers struggle to assemble all the documents needed to meet the new regulations, particularly given the acute shortage of energy assessors.

Buyers thinking they will save some costs by waiting until after the HIPs deadline may find themselves fighting for a much smaller number of homes for sale - and end up paying a lot more to secure one of them.

It could take months before the market returns to a more normal pattern.  That will make the Bank of England’s job much harder when it comes to setting interest rates”.