 Conveyancing solicitors and other housing professionals have been deeply affected by the ongoing slump in the housing market and have been desperate for any good news that emerges from monthly reports, being compiled by lenders.
This week has seen both good and bad news about the current state of house sales, with once again, Home Information Packs coming in for harsh criticism from leading figures within the industry.
Sales creeping upwards
New figures released, that have been released this week by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) suggests that, while sales are up substantially from the beginning of the year, April saw numbers stagnate, which a spokesman for RICS said was at least partially caused by the new and more stringent HIPs regulations.
RICS, which have been steadfast opponents of the scheme, say that the new rules have scared away sellers and have left potential buyers, fighting for a smaller and smaller number of available properties.
“Anecdotal evidence suggest the fall in new vendor instruction this month is due to the change in the rules governing Home Information Packs that were introduced on April 5th,” said the RICS report.
The body also pointed out that the continuing fall in house prices was severely damaging the confidence of sellers, with many people who would formerly have been interested in testing the waters, now being cautious enough to wait until prices begin to rise once more. A spokesman for RICS also noted that the overall economic picture was having a severe effect on sales, particularly the threat of redundancy and job loss.
Licensed conveyancers who rely on a brisk sales market, clearly hope that the gloomy forecast by RICS has underestimated the potential for improvement.
”Transactions remain at very low levels, and we are unlikely to see significant improvements while money remains in short supply and the employment picture is uncertain.” said Jeremy Leaf.
Housing information packs
The assertion that HIPs were partly to blame for market stagnation was vigorously denied by Mike Ockenden from the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) who said that market forces were the driving force behind the lack of properties and that there was no solid evidence linking the packs with a reluctance to sell.
“Any shortage of stock must a consequence of much greater economic and market forces and to beleaguered consumer confidence. In depth research from one of our members following the changes to First Day Marketing legislation on 6th April conclusively shows that HIPs are not a deterrent to selling a home, with 100 per cent of vendors stating that the need to obtain a pack did not influence their decision to sell,” he said.
Another survey released this week also painted a rather baleful picture of the market, with the company behind the research suggesting that monthly rises in the market were merely “blips” and that a significant improvement was still a considerably time away. Alan Cleary from Exact said that despite buyer interest the mortgage market was vital to any hope of improvement.
”Housing market commentators would have us believe green shoots have been springing up everywhere, but sentiment hasn't turned yet. House prices can't recover until the mortgage market is fixed - and that's some way off,” he said.
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