Insurance News Archive

NAEA calls for Hips impact study

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has urged the government to undertake further research into the effect of home information packs (Hips).

Hips were rolled out to all homes on December 14th with the argument for the expansion justified by a report by Dr Peter Williams of the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU), which claimed there was "no evidence of any impact on transactions or prices".

However, the NEAE has its doubts about the report and how its conclusions were used.

Stewart Lilly, NEAE president said: "The main conclusion is that there was no evidence to show that Hips were affecting transactions or prices and the market slow-up was due to the economic and financial situation.

"However, it was accepted that Hips must have had some effect, although it is really too early to be certain. This begs the question of how a decision to proceed can therefore be made."

21 Dec 2007