Hasn't this statement from Gordon Brown done the exact opposite, and killed any housing recovery - what buyer would purchase now, when in a few months stamp duty may well be zero ?

Paul, London, UK

Tinkering with little gifts will do nothing. The big issue for the PM to consider is "Constitutional Change". If the government system worked , the many problems confronting him at the moment would not exist. A demoicractic decision making process involving the populance is what is required.

Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia

Too little too late. This idea was put forward by the HBF months ago. So you can save 1% on a property over the £125k threshold - however you'll have to pay your bank a higher fee for arranging the mortgage, and a large deposit. Might help investors, but they are waiting for bottom of the market.

Neil, york, United Kingdom

The government should increase tax on all that is unfair in the housing market i.e Buy to Let, Buy to Sit, flippers, developers, 2nd homes etc

The government wont because they dont give a damn about social justice they want to revive the property boom which did them so well for many years

A Harris, Kettering, UK

This is a long term bad idea. By propping up the market, new buyers pay more for property and so have less money left. Everyone will pay a tax in the form of either higher income taxes elsewhere or reduced sevices as a result of the government having less money due to lower tax income.
short term.

roger, london,

I wrote to my MP about this months ago. A Treasury Minister replied last week, with 2 pages of justification for this tax. I knew it was just a matter of time before they were forced to suspend it. There is no 2% band - it jumps from1% to 3%.

Cameo, Berkhamsted, uk

Glen Richmond, Great Yarmouth, UK

I have worked hard to earn money to put into savings, my only investment, and pay tax on the interest after having paid tax on the hard earned money along the way so why should home owners not have to do the same?

Alex, Salisbury, UK

We have just reserved a new house but this news is going to make me cancel and wait to see what happens, £11,400 is a lot of money to save especialy when you don't have anything to show for stamp duty.

Pete O'Sullivan, HULL, YORKSHIRE

Why not simply abolish it completely ?
Be bold, abolish a tax, now there's a revolutionary thought !

After you've saved and saved for a house with your after-tax money why should the government tax this money yet again ?

Stan(expat), USA, Usa

Temporary suspension of SDLT is but one factor .
The main problem however is the inability and /or unwillingness of the Banks to provide mortgages .
The bottom line is property prices are way too high. There are masses of properties on the market but few are taking a realistic view on price .

Geoff rey Mochrie, leyburn, UK

Once this suggestion is made known, all current housing chains will sit on hold until there is a firm decision ..... A slow down in the number of houses changing hands will become a complete full stop.
When such a thought is raised it must be dealt with competently and quickly,any chance of that?

J HAWKINS, SUDBURY, UK

Oh, that's great. I would have gladly waited to buy my house until after this came into effect and would have gladly saved myself five figures! Nice, Gordon. Alienate EVERYONE why don't you?

John F, London,

How about getting rid of HIPs as well? Waste of space, money and time.

Ian Burgess, Bristol,

I think this is a good idea. As it will have no effect whatsoever to the housing market, but will make the general public think the government is 'doing' somthing'. The government is not going to loose little tax as transactions are at a very low level. Doing nothing is be don't follow the USA.

DS, London,

Donald - it may only be 1% of the value but it is a significant proportion of cash to pay over as part of the transaction process.

Also, stamp duty is 4% over 500,000, not 5%. And I beg to differ that those buying property over £500k are "rich". A 2 bed flat in Balham costs about that...

Tom, London,

By proposing the idea through the media like this the government will cause chaos as people pull out of purchases currently in progress in the hope of saving money later in the year.

Nigel Lawson did the same in the 80s on the abolition of mortgage tax relief which then caused a price bubble!

Robert, Hampshire, UK

Anyone out there with half an ounce of intelligence would not buy a house in a falling market even without stamp duty. If prices fall around 20% over the next 2 years, this will save you over 30k off the average house price. Sit on your wallets and wait.

Huw, Killarney, Ireland

Unfortunately , the percentage bands quoted are incorrect!

The rate is 1% up to £250,000, then 3% to £500,000 and 4%

from £500,001.

Under £125,001 there is currrently no Stamp Duty Land Tax payable!!

Barry, London, Geater London

I have worked hard to earn the money to buy my house and paid tax on the hard earned money along the way so why should i have to pay another 'tax' on my only investment?

Glen Richmond, Great Yarmouth, UK

higher house prices are meaningless.this is a only a tactic to give people a false sense of financial prosperity and security so they would go out and borrow more to spend more hence the boom and bust cycle.but the government is happy with that because they just want to stay in the office .

ebbi britt, valencia, spain

The three pillars of the UK economy: property developers, dodgy builders, and spivs selling mortgage backed securities. Fantastic.

boris venter, horsham, w sussex

Genius idea, Gordon(!)

Sean, Brighton,

Gordon Brown is incompetent and useless. He has worsened the economic downturn through his irresponsible tax and spend policies as Chancellor. He doesn't seem to understand the basics of economics. And all this with that horrible smirk on his face. Another desperate attempt to gain popularity,

Jane, Berkshire, UK

Why benefit the richest? Yet again, NuLabour shows little sense but plenty of kneejerk reaction

Sam, Torquay,

I bought a home in November, after renting for 10 yrs & saving for 6. I bought in surrey paying a massive stamp duty. I could only put down an 5% deposit as a result & now face negative equity. I find the govt raction with a short term measure like this makes my confidence worsen not strengthen!

A, Surrey, UK

Leaking this will also mean that anyone considering buying a house now will hold off in the hope of getting it without stamp duty in a few months - hardly the desired effect...

William John Baines, Putney, UK

What a stupid move - I am just negotiating to buy a house. Now I won't buy as there is a chance I could save £22,000. The market will now totally collapse until the end of summer when the PM gets back from holiday (if he is still PM by then).

Richard, Altrincham, UK

Stamp Duty cannot be justified anyway.Why should you have to pay it in the first place. Just another ruse to get money out of peoples pockets. Folk buying a very modest property at around 250K have to shell out an additional 7.5K just for the sake of it. .It now costs around 20K just to move.

Alan Barrett, Leatherhead , UK

If our Chancellor Browling was serious about helping first-time buyers, then he would reintroduce mortgage tax relief for first time buyers and push the burden onto second home buyers. Oops I forgot MPs might have to pay more tax. Well it was a good idea while it lasted!

Steve Lux, Cardiff,

It's not going to make houses start selling again -- it just won't make enough of a difference compared to the possibility of house prices falling by 30-50%.

Why are they so eager to re-inflate the bubble?

Carol, Derbyshire,

I am lost for words at the stupidity....is there NO ONE with any sense in this Cabinet!? Did no one say 'Hang on a minute...I think we should be a little more concrete on this...' Much as I want Brown replaced, if he can hold out til the General Election the Torys are in....but how much more damage?

James Cullup, Oxford,

That's great, now I'll have to pay more tax on something else in order to give stamp duty tax breaks to the buy-to-let brigade and the cash rich who will start buying up the cheap properties.

Andrew G, London, UK

Our highly suggestible government has picked up the 'story' that there is a magic fix for the housing market: get rid of stamp-duty and all will be fine. This follows climbdowns over non-doms, the10p band & fuel-duty. Can I make a list of other taxes I don't like and maybe they can be cancelled too?

John, Kent, UK

Have to decide whether £15k of theft (tax) is worth postponing for - sigh

Nick, London, UK

Ben Holt: it's OK for you Americans you had the option of becoming independant. But, if you are English you cannot become independant from them.

Antony Rigby, Farnham,

What makes people think that the banks are going to let people hang on to there properties until prices recover. If prices fall 25-40% leaving people in negative equity and unable to pay their mortgages the banks aren't going to turn round and say 'don't worry about paying us back as it's our fault'

Pablo, Bristol, UK

I purchased a house last year and paid 8k in stamp duty, I would be very annoyed if the Government suspends stamp duty. Surely people in my position should be eligible for a rebate?

Harry, Gravesend, UK

If Gordon Brown is planning to suspend stamp duty, could someone please tell him to get on with it? No-one is going to buy my house now, until he does.

Sarah, London, UK

The last thing that the current market needs is more uncertainty. I am actually starting to wonder if Brown is just plain thick.

Roger, Cambridge,

Clint, how would forcing investors out of buy-to-let be "better for all"? Would it really be better for those young professionals who benefit from the flexibility of renting to be forced into buying instead?

Howard Jones, Macclesfield,

Stamp duty is paid by property buyers, and is levied at 1 per cent for houses between £125,001 to £250,000, 2 per cent for £250,001 to £500,000, 3 per cent for £250,001 to £500,000 and 4 per cent for £500,001 or more. WRONG!! There is no 2% threshold. Factually incorrect again!!

Stephen Hunter , ,

prices increased because lenders started offering 4x, 5x and 6x salary multiples to borrowers - this increased prices - reverting to 3x salary lending will keep house prices in line with borrowers ability to repay - the way it should be - lets hope lenders can stick to this simple formula

Simon, London,

Stamp Duty? You still have stamp duty in the UK? I thought you would have learned your lesson about that after imposition of stamp duty contributed to the American Revolution!

Ben Hoff, New Jersey, USA

At least it is doing something, and a welcome move in the right direction.

If they can swallow their pride, recognise that Home Information Packs are a complete waste of paper, and get rid of them as well, that will be two steps in the right direction.

Tony Pegg, Leicester, England

Our buyer pulled out yesterday... wonder why???
So now what? we all sit around twiddling our thumbs waiting for Brown to think about it in a months time? well I can't wait to hear how they plan to "HELP" the housing market next...

Mark, Reading, England

This "leaked" report will effectively do more damage to an already weak housing market. Would you offer buy a property now if you thought there was a chance that stamp duty might be waived in September or October??? If your offer was in excess of £250k you'd avoid £7,500 in stamp duty!

david whittle, shrewsbury, England

Another genius move by this perpetually leaking administration. You should subtitle this article 'how to kill what's left of the UK housing market'. As someone who has a property (probate) going into auction this month there's now even less chance of it selling while everyone waits for this.

Cally Ellis, Manama, Bahrain

I wish speculators would stop talking the market down on these forums so that they can profiteer through buy to let.
A lot of people put everything into buying in the last couple of years because they couldn't wait anymore. Mkt stabilisation was needed,but major devaluation will cause a disaster.

Kevin, Hampshire,

The difficulty in obtaining a mortgage stops people buying a home. The expected loss in value of 30% is not attractive and banks expect a large deposit to offset this. Many have no chance of putting together a large deposit so the saving of stamp duty will not help more than a minute percentage.

Derek Emery, Bedworth, UK

I was about to put in an offer on a house today and instead, I am holding fire to see what happens. Saving £9,000 would be worth it to me, a pensioner. On the other hand, I could lose the house. There must be many more in my position.

Lorna R, Uxbridge, UK

So ..... Anybody who is about to complete a house sale - is now getting ready to pull out. Good one Gordon. Expect to see house prices collapse in Aug.

jeremy, hassocks, sussex

Frank,
How is inheritance tax fair? punishing people in a time of mourning for the fact that their parents were financially sensible, just so the government can get its hands on even more of the estate which has already been taxed (income and VAT) when the deceased earned/saved/bought anything.

Rob, Gloucester,

This announcement won't have any effect on the market. People who are waiting now for prices to drop, will continue to do so, and a 1% discount is not going to make the slightest bit of difference. But get rid of it anyway Gordon. It'll be a welcome break when the market does pick up.... eventually.

Ken Marty, Handsworth,

It does not help that this tax is completely unfair anyway. Rather than have it as a progressive rate tax like income tax, the government enforce a rate that as soon as you go £1 over 250k you are hit by a complete 3% rate on the whole amount, not just the amount over the rate bracket!!

Tom, London,

and he'll recoup the lost revenue with yet another stealth tax...

cww, Ipswich,

Gordon and Alastair. Latest fiasco in a line of gaffs. You have effectively stopped the ailing housing market in its tracks with your dilly dallying announcement. Let me help. Announce TODAY a review of Stamp duty from midnight. 0% up to 250,000, 1% up to 500,000 and 2% above 500K. Stop dithering!

Wes Bland, Bexleyheath, UK

Beautiful!!
the market will grind to an abrupt and complete halt waiting for Gordon to come back from Bejing
Buyers will not want to buy, and sellers will not want to sell in the expectation of greater price realizations
what a government what a mess!

Georgie, LondON,

What is the connection between stamp duty, council tax, BBC "licence" and window tax - they are all unfair and outdated but the window tax was abolished in the 19C. The only fair taxes are on income.

Tony Gee, London,

The market is indeed declining. But since prices are massively inflated that is precisely what's needed. The IMF said a few months ago over valuation is 34% and that's conservative; in many cases its more. Did GB read it?

ENOUGH of this: house price inflation is inflation like any other: heinous.

Joe, Manchester,

who cares about 1 or 2 % when prices are going to fall 25-50%. I would happily pay 5% stamp duty if house prices fell 50%.

Nimesh, Aberdeen, UK

This might help some as part of a series of measures (including getting rid of HIPs). However the fact is the VAST majority of people will not move until prices recover. Unlike the US people cannot simply walk away if they fall into negative equity. And talk of 40% falls is garbage - no credibility.

phil, london,

Keep digging Gordon! You allowed a bubble to inflate which completely distorted the economy and is forcing millions of young people to exist in rented housing insecurity. They need the bubble to burst. Increase tenants' rights, that will speed up the sales by BTL landlords and be better for all.

Clint, Brighton, UK

be careful what u wish for! taxes must be found elswhere!
A labour govt. taking steps to increase the price of property and thereby increasing private sector profits
who remembers red kens liverpool? private taxis delivering redundancy notices to council workers.
What price a Labour goverment?

mikec cassidy, gloucester, engalnd

So until he makes his mind up nothing will sell - people will sit back and wait. Great one Gordon - totally mess the housing market up. Just finish it off. Oh and by the way , it is 3% for properties between £250,001 and £500,000.

Chris, S'bury,

Has stamp duty been suspended on UK shares ? That market is also in decline.

How can we have faith in a Governent who is attempting to re-inflate a speculative bubble.

If they want to stimulate housebuilding, why not pay builders to build affordable homes ?

andy, manchester,

Given the state of the market this proposal could kill it until stamp duty is withdrawn.

Then, when the demand pressure has built up, people will budget the money they would have spent on stamp duty as money they can put on the offer price thereby fuelling house price inflation.

Geoff M, Birmingham, England

AND how many sales will 'Pull out' now.
Stupidity reigns with this Goverment.

No more property sales until we know for sure what is happening.

VERY wrong to announce what MIGHT happen in a months time when GB has finished sunning himself!!

We might as well ALL go on our hols now.

Terry, Hockley,

Frank, how can you say Inheritance tax is a good tax, the problem with it is the thresholds have not been raised in line with housing inflation, dragging people who the tax was not initially aimed at into its grasp. As a practicing accountant I see the hardship it causes people.

Martin, Swansea, Wales

If he hasn't already stopped the property market in its tracks, he soon will. Give a temporary tax cut like that, and you risk doing what Nigel Lawson achieved in the late 1980s. There will be an almighty surge in purchases until the tax goes back on, followed by a price free-fall.

Ian Tinn, Slough, England

Gordon has just succeeded in bringing the rapidly slowing housing market to a full stop.
Would you sign the contract for a house now when you know there is a chance of saving several thousand pounds if you wait until Gordon confirms what he is doing?

Brendan, Belfast,

What about all the other hard pressed people who have already been scammed by this over inflated tax? It was a licence to print money for this Government, and they loved it....what have they done with the cash?

Janice, London, England

Ha ha ha, suspending stamp duty won't 'restart the market'. See recent news article about a 24-year old with an 18K deposit earning 25K a year. She needs to borrow 200K(!!!) to afford even the smallest 1-bed flat and faces paying for it until she is 65! I'd just emigrate! Houses must drop 50%.

Neil Colton, London,

This won't undo all the damage that this government has inflicted on the home buyers, and potential home buyers, since they have been in power!

Brian Tull, Darwen, Lancashire

Stamp Duty Land Tax should be abolished altogether. as it is a mischievous tax on mobility and taxes people when they can least afford it. By contrast, the hated Inheritance Tax is a good tax, taxing funds that people don't need.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

So NOBODY (without a lobotomy) will buy a house AT ALL until this is implemented - another well thought out move from this dying govt!

Bruce Robertson, Brighton, UK

listen to all these scaremongers who are trying to talk this Market down by 40% so they can buy something.don't sell and the Market won't move.hold your nerve

Kevin, London, England

The housing market was heading for collapse when house prices doubled practically over night a couple of years ago. If mortgage companies had not been so eager to "dish out" loans like "confetti" they wouldn't be in the mess they are in today.

Ercan, Chadwell Heath, Essex

Still shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic, Cap'n McBroon ?

Rick, London, England

So the government is thinking of suspending Stamp Duty Land Tax but is not saying yea or nay until an unspecified date?
One wonders what impact that is having on those presently looking to do property deals. If it were me I would wait and see.
They have effectively suspended the housing market

Sue Doughty, Twyford, UK

So that means even those few transactions actually progressing will now be stalled as everyone waits to find out if this is going to happen or not. This government is so utterly inept - either announce it or rule it out but don't let speculation hang over a market that is already so fragile.

John Henry, London,

Back to square one then eh!! Affordable housing means in my book means reasonable rents and mortgages for young families.

Frederick , London, UK

"... 2 per cent for £250,001 to £500,000, 3 per cent for £250,001 to £500,000 ..."

You're confused!

MC, Sutton, UK

Big deal, this will make 90% of houses 1% more affordable.
They are falling at 1.5% a month now. 20% a year. 1% taxe incentive isnt going to make a difference to those who are waiting for much cheaper prices.
But the rich who pay 5% stamp duty on properties above 500K will benefit the most.

Donald, London,

The Government has been advised over the last three years by the IMF that house prices were overpriced and a bubble waiting to burst. To inflate the bubble is a sign the government has finally lost its financial 'Marbles' and fiscal legitimacy. What stealth taxes are on their way to pay for this?

M. Butcher, W-s-M, England

He just doesn't get it does he?

Mitch, Wolverhampton, England

Gee aint that Gordon generous! (If it happens)

Mike O Connor, Plymouth,

So if we buy now we can potentially save between 1% and 4% on a property slated to fall a further 10% - 20% in value over the next 1 - 2 years. Hey, hang on a minute!

Dave, Woodford,

Keep that debt bubble inflated Mr Brown because what’s left of your political career depends on it.

Mark, Leeds,

Thanks Gordon! .... but it won't make any difference!

First time buyers are not buying till the crash has truly finished ... and there's still another 40% plus fall to go yet!

You remember the concept of boom and bust?

Lara K, Northampton, UK