| UK
House Prices Situation at 8 6 2007: Rate of growth slowing
as more properties go on the market
UK
House Prices Forecast: Continuing slow growth in most
areas, stronger in London/South-East/South-West
The
HIP Effect
The
story has all been about HIPs this week. At the beginning
of the week, property website Rightmove revealed slowing
price inflation and a record number of new properties
on the market – an effect believed to be caused
by the impending introduction of HIPs.
By
the end of the week, HIPs had been postponed indefinitely
for sub-4 bedroom home owners. So what happens next?
HIPs:
The Climb Down
Following
a legal challenge from RICS and an embarrassing shortage
of qualified Domestic Energy Assessors, the government
has postponed the start of the Home Information Pack
programme until August 1st.
However,
even then it will only apply to people selling homes
with 4 or more bedrooms – a minority of the housing
market. Owners of smaller homes need not bother
for the foreseeable future.
Other
changes include:
·
Energy Performance Certificates up to 12 months old
can be used
·
Until the end of the year homes can go on the market
as soon as a HIP has been commissioned – without
having to wait a typical 2-6 weeks for it to be completed,
as was previously required.
Rightmove
Sees Record Numbers As Growth Slows
Property
website Rightmove has seen a record number of properties
placed on the market in May – and a dramatic drop
in the rate at which asking prices are increasing.
The
website saw 200,115 new properties placed on the market
in May – smashing their previous record of 178,158.
This was coupled with an increase in asking prices of
just 0.4% – much lower than April’s dramatic
3.6% rise.
The
influx of properties to the market
has been attributed to people’s desire to avoid
having to purchase a HIP for their property, but it
is also likely to have been influenced by the favourable
market conditions at present.
Now
that HIPs have been postponed, it will be interesting
to see how this affects the price and quantity of property
on the market, as sellers realise that in most cases
they will not have to worry about HIPs this year.
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