RICS: HIPs spurred rise in homes put on the market in May

A new set of figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that in May, 39 percent more chartered surveyors reported a rise in houses offered for sale. The number was up from 12 percent in April. This bore out the expectations that many people thinking of selling their home would make the decision and put their home on the market before the Home Information Pack requirement was required. Many felt it made sense to do so because houses for sale before the 1 June introduction date for the HIPs would not have to have the pack in place until January 2008. Homes offered after the deadline would have been required to have the pack in place before offering the home for sale.

The number of homes put up for sale in May had the effect, according to RICS, of loosening the market to some extent. Now, however, with the introduction of HIPs postponed until 1 August and then having the requirement apply only to houses with four bedrooms or more, RICS expects that supplies will tighten again as homeowners do not feel such an urgency to place their homes for sale. The exception, according to a RICS spokesman, could be larger homes that must comply with the HIPs requirement beginning in August. Despite the loosening in the market due to the increase in supply in May, however, almost 24 percent more surveyors reported their local house prices going up rather than down in May.

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