The news is reporting that Home Information Packs will be required for 3 bedroomed properties from 10th September.

...and the property market comes to a standstill!

It's possible I suppose, but I'm not sure of the details yet. ie. Are homes already on the market exampt for a period of time (as they were with the 4 beds)? In which case, any properties already on the market will be OK, but it might simply slow down new properties appearing.

I think there are other issues killing the property market, and not HIPs. People are in debt, keeping their head above water and just unable to move. Especially with all of the news form the stock markets and the USA sub prime market, it looks like everything will slow down. Can't blame HIPs for that...

Sky have just done a piece on the new changes:

3 bed homes from Sept 10th; good news for the assessors; another obstacle when selling; HIPs are a "stealth tax"; families will be paying more; many home sellers don't know what HIPs are - think that estate agents are trying to rip them off.