THE housing market has been warming up very nicely, but next year it could be disrupted by the advent of home information packs, or Hips.

By law, everyone who wants to offer a property for sale in England and Wales after June 1 next year will have to give potential buyers a pack including a “home condition report”, Land Registry details and answers to standard questions. The packs will cost between £600 and £700 plus Vat, according to the government.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: “We believe that some people will put their properties on the market early to avoid paying for a Hip. That may bring forward sales to the period before they become a requirement on June 1. After that date, there may be a corresponding lull in business.

“In areas of the country where there is a high proportion of people with low savings, some people may decide not to sell rather than take the risk that they might pay for a Hip but not achieve a sale.”

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, the property-advertising website, said that the new rule could deter speculative sellers from putting their properties on the market, and lead to a drop in transactions in the winter of 2007-8.

However, he thinks they will help first-time buyers, “providing them with a full survey at a time when they are struggling to get on the housing ladder”.

Industry opinion is split. Some professionals hope that the new rules will benefit agents who invest in improving the skills and knowledge of their staff. Other executives remain sceptical, or downright hostile to Hips.

Nick Salmon, a London estate agent who spearheads the pressure group Splinta (Sellers’ Pack Law Is Not The Answer) said: “It will be very expensive and will remove all responsibility from the buyer, placing it on the seller. Estate agents will be asked questions from the home information pack that they do not have the competence to answer.”

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