THE Government’s change of heart on the contents of the home information pack (Hip) should come as no surprise, as policy reverses in this sector are becoming routine.

Last year, the Chancellor peremptorily withdrew the right to hold residential property in a pension plan. Now the home condition report, the most essential element of the Hip, will not be required. This document, compiled by a specially trained home inspector, was to have been a guide to the state of the property — a survey in all but name. Hips may not have been scrapped — they will still be compulsory for all sellers from June 2007 — but they have been almost entirely enfeebled.

The energy performance certificate that will grade a home’s energy efficiency and carbon emissions will still be a part of the calorie-free Hip “lite”. However, the certificate will be next to useless without the home condition report’s facts and figures. In a statement that would win awards for official evasiveness, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is maintaining the pretence that Hips can still serve their original purpose — which was to speed up transactions by giving prospective purchasers the full lowdown at the outset — but the department is fooling no one.

Many people feared that Hips would destabilise the property market, causing a glut of properties for sale before their implementation and a drought thereafter. But even those with the deepest concerns were not rejoicing over the withdrawal of the home condition report requirement. They may have opposed the Hips project, but they still consider that the Government has behaved shoddily, especially in its treatment of those individuals who took £5,000 courses to become home inspectors.

For the future, the failure to implement Hips properly also calls into question the DCLG’s ability to manage some of its more onerous responsibilities, such as planning and housebuilding. Poor decisions on these issues will have much more damaging consequences for house prices than any short-term effect that could have resulted from the home condition report.

ETERNAL OPTIMISTS A sudden and unexpected surge in inflation, caused by rising fuel bills, has increased the possibility of a rise in interest rates later this year. Yet, despite the threat of more expensive mortgage repayments, the British are minded, for the moment, to be optimistic about the property market. For example, most think that prices in their area will outperform the national average, according to research from the Propertyfinder website.

This territorial confidence warms the heart, although it also suggests that people will not accept that the place where they have bought is failing to gentrify.

The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has a similarly buoyant tone, reporting a mini boom in the South East and London, which is now seen as a separate “city state”, populated by buyers flush with bonuses from their labours in the financial services industry. But RICS also notes that gains in the North, the South West and the West Midlands are more moderate; in East Anglia, the East Midlands and Wales, prices are stable.

This may not be the case for long — if you put your faith in the National Housing Federation (NHF), which represents housing associations. It predicted this week that values are set to surge by close to 50 per cent over the next five years, a forecast that will delight homeowners and depress those who aspire to buy.

Neither group should place too much reliance on the NHF’s figures, however. The organisation itself says that home ownership will be beyond the means of even those with relatively large incomes. But, if people are financially constrained, it is unlikely that prices can climb to the lofty heights envisaged by the NHF. C&G, the lender, is already saying that affordability (a key factor in the direction of house prices) is set to fall this year, with families struggling under the combined burden of mortgages and tax. This will be so even if rates remain unchanged.

THE HARSH REALTOR The British, in the main, do not hold estate agents in much affection. The Americans, it seems, feel a similar distrust towards their equivalent professional, the realtor. The Break-Up, the new Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy, depicts a squabbling couple, both unwilling to quit the condo they have bought. The property is like some third person in the relationship — the reason for much of the conflict. The characters’ behaviour is unpleasant. But their realtor Riggleman (the slimy name is apt) is even more underhand. He acts as their counsellor, saying: “Go your separate ways and get on with your lives.” This is not disinterested advice — he has a list of aspiring purchasers. Estate agents going to the cinema this weekend should know that this is not the ideal date movie for them. anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk

Explore Property

• Buying & Selling

• New Homes

• Overseas

• Interiors

• Investment

• Gardens

• Cool In Your Code

• Specials

• First-time buyer

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers