Market effects of home reports must be closely monitored

Published on Tuesday 2 December 2008 09:12

WHETHER the new Home Reports which came into being yesterday will become as hated as the Poll Tax, as has been claimed, remains to be seen, but the prediction that they will further weaken the fragile Scottish housing market is more likely.

The idea of the vendor paying for a single seller survey was conceived by the former Labour-Lib Dem administration at a time when the market was buoyant and prices were soaring. The desire to reform a system which led to unsuccessful buyers facing a bill for a survey every time they bid for a house was laudable enough, but even in the boom years there were strong doubts that single seller surveys would make much difference. Lenders, it was persuasively argued, would always want their own report no matter what a vendor's survey said.

But it was also an attempt to put a brake on the market by making it less attractive for homeowners to put their house up for sale just to see what price they could achieve. Faced with an 800 bill for a survey, it was reasonably expected that fewer homeowners would consider moving, but in a boom this would actually have fuelled price inflation by decreasing supply.

But times have changed and so has the housing market. The selling of properties subject to survey and fixed price sales have become widespread and far fewer people find themselves forced to bid for several houses as each attempt falls short. Houses are taking much longer to sell and with repossessions rising for those who can get a loan they can just about name their price. Blind auctions have now become a relative rarity.

Now sellers are not only faced with achieving a far lower sale price but also paying up to 800 for a report that has a shelf life of only three months. Should a property fail to sell quickly a second, third or even fourth Home Report may be required.

Lenders are understandably wary about accepting a basic survey as proof that a property is a sound investment and if they insist on a separate structural survey the Home Report will almost have been a waste of time and money. Buyers will also be wary about accepting a report over which they have had no control when they are committing to what will be the biggest purchase of their lives.

But at least surveyors will be happy with work coming in from both sides, one forced to employ a surveyor by law and the other to double check work.

With the slump in the market it is surprising that the SNP has been determined to push through such ill-timed legislation which was not of their making. The effect must be carefully monitored and if single seller surveys do have a disastrous impact on the market then the government must have the courage to abandon them.