IRRV Alert September 2 2008
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Stamp duty axed below £175,000
Homebuyers will not have to pay stamp duty on properties costing £175,000 or less for the next 12 months.
The current £125,000 threshold will be changed from Wednesday in a move aimed at kick-starting the housing market.
Someone buying a home for £175,000 will save £1,750 under the scheme, which will cost the Treasury £600m.
The government estimates half of all property transactions will now be exempt from stamp duty - up from one third when the threshold was £125,000.
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said: "This is part of a whole series of announcements to help people with the current economic difficulties that they face.
"We can't solve every single person's problems for them... but what they do expect from government is, where we can, practical help."
Other moves announced include:
- "Free" five year loans of up to 30% of a property's value for first time buyers of new homes in England
- Extension of powers for councils and housing associations to be able to pay off debt for homeowners who can no longer afford mortgage payments and then charge rent.
- Shortening from 39 weeks to 13 weeks the period before Income Support for Mortgage Interest is paid
- Bringing forward spending from future years to encourage more social housing to be built
House prices are reportedly falling at their fastest rate since the early 1990s, while rising fuel costs and the global credit crunch are denting economic confidence.
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 They are not going to help the vast majority of families facing a rising cost of living and falling house prices  George Osborne, Conservatives
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Under the new loans system, called HomeBuy Direct, households in England earning less than £60,000 will be offered loans free of charge for five years on new properties, co-funded by the state and developers.
Once the five-year "free" period is up, homebuyers will be asked to pay a fee, the Department for Communities and Local Government said - although no more detail of this was provided.
In a statement, the DCLG said: "Not only will this [HomeBuy Direct] help first-time buyers... it will help the housebuilding industry weather difficult conditions."
'More homes sooner'
The prime minister has faced a difficult few months, with Labour losing two parliamentary seats in by-elections, the London mayoralty and many councillors in May's local elections.
On Monday, he said the UK faced "unique circumstances", including oil prices trebling and the global credit crunch.
But Mr Brown said the government was "resilient in... dealing with these problems".
He earlier denied a rift with Chancellor Alistair Darling, who had said the country was facing its worst economic crisis in 60 years.
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For the Conservatives, shadow chancellor George Osborne said: "We will look at the details of these measures and we will support those that will work.
"But let's be clear, they are not going to help the vast majority of families facing a rising cost of living and falling house prices.
"Nor do they amount to the first instalment of the economic recovery plan we were promised.
"I suspect that what we will see in the coming weeks is a desperate and short-term survival plan for the prime minister rather that the long-term economic plan the country needs."
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: "This looks like a hotchpotch of measures thrown together to save Gordon Brown's political skin.
"The social housing stock could be increased far more easily by allowing local authorities to buy up unsold properties and use them for new social housing.
"Yet again the government is desperately scrabbling around for a way to fix problems of its own making."