It has just been announced that stamp duty will be suspended on residential property purchases up to the value of £175,000. This will take effect from tomorrow.

The word “suspended” in interesting in the statement released by the Government, as it implies that it is a temporary measure, but as the housing crisis continues to worsen, this can be seen as some form of help. The bad news is, it is temporary! This is a one year opportunity, which will expire on 3rd September 2009. So, if you are a first time buyer, and need to avoid stamp duty in order to get on the property ladder, then you need to move fast (assuming in the current crisis you can find a suitable property in the first place).

However, does it go far enough? With the average value of a property at a figure higher than that, and may parts of the country being substantially higher than that, the measures seem not to go nearly far enough. In a year’s time, we will merely go back to having the same problem as we currently do.