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In Chancellor George Osborne’s autumn statement today, he failed to extend the stamp duty holiday beyond its end date of March 2012, despite calls to do so from industry bodies such as the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

In the 2010 budget, then Chancellor Alistair Darling announced the stamp duty threshold would double from £125,000 to £250,000 for first-time buyers but announced an increase in the rate for properties worth more than £1m from 4 per cent to 5 per cent. The stamp duty holiday is due to end on March 25, 2012.

The autumn statement says: “The government is publishing analysis showing that the stamp duty land tax relief for first-time buyers has been ineffective in increasing the number of first-time buyers entering the market.

“This relief will therefore end on March 24 2012 as planned. The government is instead prioritising more effective measures which provide better value for money as set out above and in its housing strategy.”