Unnamed government sources quoted in many newspapers today suggest stamp duty reforms may be announced later this year.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to unveil his latest Coronavirus recovery measures on Wednesday and some sources claim they will include a six month stamp duty holiday - other sources suggest that with estate agents currently reporting good business, such a measure may be delayed until the autumn.
Another option under consideration is to lift the threshold at which stamp duty starts to between £300,000 and £500,000.
That would mean hundreds of thousands of properties in the 'Blue Wall' Midlands and north of England area - which helped the Conservatives to a General Election victory in December - would be lifted out of the duty completely.
Currently the duty is not charged on the first £125,000 of the selling price, with a two per cent rate up to £250,000 and five per cent on the next £675,000.
First-time buyers are already exempt from paying the duty on homes under £500,000 in London and £300,000 in the rest of the country.
Industry bodies from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to the Homeowners Alliance have called for stamp duty cuts to help the market in recent months.
