Stamp Duty Relief

Chancellor Alistair Darling announced today the temporary raising of the threshold for homes sales incurring stamp duty to £175,000.The Treasury said that the new exemption will run from transactions completing tomorrow until 3 September 2009.Homes with a value above £250,000 will continue to pay stamp duty at 3%, and those above £500,000 at 4%.

The Government claims around half of all property transactions are for homes worth less than £175,000, around half a million buyers, although the opposition disputes those numbers. The new threshold is just above the latest UK figure for average property prices, which stands at £164,654. Housing charity Shelter said 15,000 families could benefit from the overall package.

Economists have warned the move may force Government borrowing up further in this autumn's Pre-Budget Report after Alistair Darling declined to say how he would pay the estimated £600 million bill.

But Gordon Brown insisted the Government was doing the right thing to bring Britain's economy through a difficult period. "Home-owners need to know that we will do everything we can to keep the housing market moving forward," he said.

"Help with stamp duty, help for first-time buyers, help to build more social housing, help to take unsold properties off the housing market and help for people who get into difficulties. These are the things a Government should do to help us come through what is a difficult situation and show that our economy is resilient and will come through these problems."

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears unveiled a £200 million mortgage rescue scheme, allowing those at risk of repossession to sell all or part of their home to a Registered Social Landlord and then rent it back at an affordable rate. She also unveiled a £300 million HomeBuy Direct scheme offering 10,000 first-time buyers a 30% loan towards the price of a newly-built property.

Some £400 million of funding for 5,500 social homes is to be brought forward and income support rules are being amended to give home-owners who lose their jobs help with mortgage payments after 13 weeks, instead of the current 39.