Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps is leading the report, with the help of TV’s Kirstie Allsopp and Pinnicale founder Owne Inskip, and hopes to find ways of improving the process experience for
property buyers and sellers alike.
Since launching last December, the review has received over 300 submissions from individuals, companies, trade bodies and professional associations.
Respondents have so far called for prevention of gazumping and gazundering, a review of lessons learnt from the Home Information Packs roll out and an examination of home buying in other countries.
A spokesman for Schapps said that the current economic climate meant they were looking very carefully before making them public.
More Evidence of a Sharp Housing Market Slowdown
Properties are taking a staggering 10.3 weeks to sell – 90% higher than the six weeks recorded in January 2007, reveals Hometrack’s House Price Survey from June.
The survey, which is based on responses from
estate agents in all postcode districts across England and Wales, also reveals that the proportion of properties achieving their asking prices fell last month to 91.6%, down from 95.6% in June 2007.
Average house prices were down 1% in June, compared with May. This is the 9th consecutive fall in a row with agents reporting lower prices across 83% of the country.
Meanwhile, Nationwide’s House Price Index reveals that average house prices were £172,415 in June. That’s 0.9% lower than in May (£173,583) and 6.3% lower year-on-year. But the monthly fall was less than in May when
house prices fell by 2.5%.
Fionnuala Earley, chief economist at Nationwide, says: “The level of transactions is a key driver of house prices. Changes in transaction levels are a good indication of the likely path of prices and across housing cycles have tended to lead changes by a few months.
“In the most recent cycle, the number of house purchase approvals began to moderate in the first quarter of 2007, whereas annual house price growth did not begin to slow until the third quarter.
“The number of house purchase approvals per month is now at historic lows and in May was running at less than half of its long run average rate”.
Data from the Bank of England shows that house purchase approvals slumped to 42,000 in May, compared with 58,000 in April, while net lending to individuals increased by £5.4bn – down from a £9.3bn increase in April.