Budget 2009: Will Darling offer the key to property recovery?
House prices are expected to fall further in the coming year and as many as two million face negative equity or limited equity, frustrating attempts to get hold of a mortgage deal.
Could Alistair Darling use the Budget this week to help homeowners and give the UK property market a boost?
As the economy stumbles through recession the threat of job losses is holding many back from making the decision to buy or move. Meanwhile mortgage lending remains tight - especially for those first-time buyers and those with little equity seeking a mortgage over 90 per cent loan-to-value.
One big area to promote the property market would be a suspension or revamp of stamp duty.
Last year, the chancellor temporarily raised the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £175,000.
There are calls for him to at least maintain this higher level and even push rates higher or suspend the property tax.
Property experts are calling for stamp duty to be suspended for an unspecified time - or to reform the current slab system of thresholds, where higher tax rates strike as certain house price levels are passed.
Nicholas Leeming, at property search site propertyfinder.com, said: "In the Budget we want to see reform of stamp duty.
"With the housing market now yielding so little to the Treasury, this is a golden opportunity to soften the cudgel of this iniquitous tax without affecting the government's overall tax take significantly.
"We don't want another stamp duty holiday announcement, we need a more radical and longstanding move that will actually help tempt people back into the market and increase housing transactions - these are the lifeblood of the market."
Nick Hopkinson, director of investment firm Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR), called for changes to how stamp duty is charged for those buying multiple properties - so they are taxed per property and not for the whole transaction.
"We need to see an end to the unfair treatment of investors who are making multiple property purchases," he said.
"Instead of forcing this group of buyers to pay a levy on their full portfolio, Stamp Duty tax should be payable on an individual property basis, providing investors with a level playing field."
A further key area for the chancellor to deal with is the mortgage market.
Banks the government has stakes in have agreed to increase mortgage lending for the coming year, but buyers without a sizeable deposit are finding deals hard to come by.
Mr Hopkinson said: "Concerns over restricted lending remain a central and challenging issue.
"The banks are profiteering from the low base rate but on the whole, are still not passing on more attractive rates to help ease the pain for borrowers."
He added the government must use its influence to get those banks under its control offering realistic and accessible mortgages.
"I am not calling for a return to irresponsible lending, but for rates that reflect the Libor and base rates," he said.
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