Government inaction has immediate effect

James Hyman, partner for residential sales at Cluttons, commented: “The lack of immediate, decisive action from the Government is already having a negative impact on the housing market.

“We warned that implementation of a stamp duty suspension would need to be pushed through straight away if it was to be successful and avoid bringing further stagnation to the market. The possibility of avoiding this tax is too appealing to home buyers, who are reluctant to fork out tens of thousands of pounds for something they may be able to bypass in a matter of weeks, and as a result some buyers are stalling.

“We have several purchasers who were on the point of exchange before last week’s announcement, but are now unwilling to exchange on their purchase until the stamp duty issue is resolved. I urge the Government to either implement this policy now or quash these rumours to avoid exacerbating things further."