Statistics released today confirm that the legal content in Home Information Packs has helped speed up the time between accepting an offer on a property and exchange of contracts by an average of seven calendar days.

The research looked at a sample of over 37,500 vendors who had instructed estate agency branches within the Connells Group after 2nd August 2007, and who subsequently exchanged contracts before 11th September 2009. The sample of all sizes of second hand property includes vendors who were legitimately exempt from needing a HIP and those who have had a HIP produced on their property.

The findings were calculated using software in each branch which records every step of the transaction, including acceptance of an offer and exchange of contracts. This showed that vendors of second hand properties with HIPs exchanged contracts on their property on average seven calendar days faster than those without a Home Information Pack.

Mike Ockenden, Director General, AHIPP comments: “A 7 day reduction on average is an impressive figure, enough to make a big difference to all parties in a chain. These new statistics simply add to the growing body of evidence that directly contradicts the claims made by some critics of HIPs. The system as it stands may not be perfect but, as these results clearly show, HIPs have lead to important improvements being made. At AHIPP we are working to ensure that such positive steps are not lost going forward”.

Roger Wilson, Conveyancing Services Director, Connells Group, said: “From my own audits on Conveyancing transactions, I have seen first hand how having the legal paperwork and searches available upfront can speed up the due diligence process.  Whilst HIPs have not achieved all their objectives, we urge an incoming Government in 2010 to undertake a detailed review on which aspects are working and which are not, before making a decision”.