The National Association of Estate Agents’ (NAEA) has found through a survey of its members that 10% of agents believed the number of sellers would double if Home Information Packs (HIPs) were suspended.

The NAEA survey also discovered a fifth of all agents believed the number of sellers would increase by 20-25%, with a huge 91% ‘adamant that customers paid little or no attention to the controversial packs anyway’.

News from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) recently found stock of homes was down, despite buyer interest picking up.

RICS also noted ‘anecdotal evidence’ suggested HIPs were decreasing the number of buyers coming forward.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said: “The housing market has seen a number of positive signs in 2009, particularly an increased demand for property and more sales being completed. However, this will be unsustainable without a steady supply of housing. HIPs are controversial and in the NAEA’s opinion, relatively useless. That is bad enough, but these figures suggest that professional agents believe that they are actively harming the market.”

In April the laws on HIPs were changed, so they were required to be completed before a home was advertised for sale. They also must now include additional information, including a Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ), and can cost the seller up to £400 to complete.