The number of properties requiring a Home Information Pack (HIP) coming onto the market in August has more than halved in certain areas across England compared with the same month last year, according to a survey of its members by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
More than half of respondents (53%) indicated a decrease in four bedroom or larger properties coming onto the market, with only 5% of respondents indicating an increase. Respondents who recorded a fall found on average that new instructions fell by 51%.
In certain regions the picture looks bleak. The most affected areas were the West Midlands (-83.3%) and East Midlands (-75.0%) with substantially more Chartered Surveyors indicating a fall than rise in new instructions for four bedroom and larger properties.
London was the least affected region with only a -10% differential between fall and rise. However, where affected, the capital recorded the largest reduction (66%) in new instructions (the London market is traditionally dominated by flats and smaller accommodation).
RICS spokesperson Jeremy Leaf, said: "Unfortunately HIPs are having a detrimental impact on the housing market, something the Housing Minister assured us would not happen. Every region in the country is affected, and we fear that this will only increase as HIPs are rolled out to 3-bedroom properties. Blindly pressing on without having conducted any market impact study is hardly acting in the best interests of consumers."
RICS Head Director of Regulation Policy Gillian Charlesworth said: "We need home buying reform, but the Government needs to step back and consider this and other evidence it has about implementation so far, in cooperation with the industry and other interested groups. The residential property market is far too important to the economy to take any risks in the current climate."
