Estate agents prepared for BoE minutes
Estate Agents - 14/08/2006 15:23:50
Estate agents will be watching with care this week as the Bank of England (BoE) releases the minutes from its most recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Estate agents and property sector specialists will be hoping to gain clues as to the timing of future interest rate increases, following the recent rise in rates which took many by surprise.
The MPC minutes are scheduled to be released on Wednesday and could be discussed by Countrywide, UK's biggest chain of estate agents, after it posts interim results on Tuesday.
The estate agents' group has said that July saw record sales and only a marginal dip due to the World Cup.
However, the good news on trading was soon knocked to one side as the government revealed that it would be withdrawing the compulsory home condition report from the soon to be introduced home information packs (Hips).
Hips have caused controversy amongst estate agents, with some saying that they would, contrary to government claims, increase the cost of buying homes and place another obstacle in the way of property investors.
This has been confounded by the removal of home condition reports, which will cost estate agents and their employees thousands of pounds on redundant training courses.
If you're thinking of selling your home, click here to find out about Hips from estate agents in your area.