Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, expressed concern that the information released by the CLG placed little emphasis on buyers' responses to and opinions on the Packs, and instead chose to focus on the seller's interpretation of the data they had spent £350 collating.
"Clearly desperate to say something positive, the CLG concentrated on the seller’s perception of the HIP. ‘Eight out of ten felt that it contained everything they expected’ – well I would hope so, it is after all their house! Is this really as positive as it gets?" said Bolton King.
He explained that a detailled reading of the official report paints a different picture, adding that after digging a little deeper he was found that only 29 per cent of sellers felt that HIPs made the selling process more efficient, while 76 revealed the HIP had no effect on their decision to buy the home in question.
“It is a pity that the government chose to ignore what we and other stakeholders said to them over the last few years. At the end of the day it is the consumer who is losing out," he concluded.
