NAEA urges government to review Hips

Posted: 01 Jun 2009 07:46:16 GMT

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has responded to positive property price news by calling on the government to review some existing industry legislation.

In the aftermath of Nationwide Building Society revealing that the average house price rose by 1.2 per cent in May, the professional body for estate agents said that changes need to be made to the home information pack (Hip) system and stamp duty rules.

Both of these areas of the sector "dampen activity across the market, particularly for first-time buyers", the NAEA stated.

Last month, the organisation revealed that the average estate agent in the UK sold ten homes in April - this was up by two properties on March's figures and significantly higher than the levels recorded last winter.

It prompted the association's chief executive Peter Bolton King to say confidence had returned to the market, although he conceded that it remains too early to say whether or not a complete recovery is beginning.

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