The Government’s decision to abolish the controversial Home Information Packs has seen an influx of properties into the housing market.

According to RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), the impact of decisions made by the new Government is already being seen in the housing market, with more supply of houses since HIPS were scrapped.

The Labour Government made it law that house sellers must provide potential buyers with a pack which included such information as its energy performance, but they were widely criticised by sellers and industry experts alike as being a waste of money, and scrapping them was one of the first actions of the coalition Government.

The number of surveyors who reported a rise in new properties on the market rose from 11 per cent in April to 21 per cent in May, and this is expected to continue. Overall, 73 per cent of surveyors expect the abolition of Home Information Packs to see a 15 per cent increase in properties coming onto the market now that sellers are not hindered by having to get the packs in place.

Perhaps consequently, buyer interest is also up; chartered surveyors reported a rise in new buyer enquiries in May compared to the previous month.

Meanwhile, house prices have been rising, with 22 per cent more chartered surveyors reporting a rise than fall in house prices across most of England and Wales in May, up from 19 per cent in April, despite the higher supply of properties.

And, surveyors expect sales activity to rise over the coming months, showing more optimism than last month, although the average number of completed sales fell nearly five per cent in May.

Commenting on the survey’s findings, RICS spokesperson, Ian Perry said: “Surveyors are generally confident that sales will continue to pick up over the summer months. The increase in supply as a result of the abolition of HIPs is helping to support this optimism despite continuing concerns about mortgage finance.”

But, he added, the higher number of properties coming onto the housing market will “lead to a flatter trend in house prices in the latter part of the year.”

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