Government’s dithering paralyses market

An overwhelming 83% of home movers are either pushing back their moving date or postponing their entire move indefinitely, as a result of the Government's dithering over Stamp Duty.

Moveme, an online planning aid for people moving home, surveyed 1,500 people on its database.

Of these, only 17% said that the uncertainty over Stamp Duty made no difference to their plans, while 20% had deferred completion and 63% were postponing their move indefinitely.

 Charles Wasdell, director of Moveme.com, and who has himself deferred moving home, said: "It is plain to see the devastating effect the Government is having on the housing market, as it keeps tight lipped about the possibility of a Stamp Duty holiday.

“The Chancellor must either press ahead with the legislation immediately or confirm that there will be no Stamp Duty holiday, so the people who are buying property move ahead with their purchase.”

The survey is in line with fall-throughs reported by both the National Association of Estate Agents and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The NAEA says that the number of fall-throughs induced by the Government’s failure to say what it is going to do with Stamp Duty can be measured in thousands.

The RICS says that new buyers in August fell by 20% more than had been expected.