Chancellor John Healey ignored calls for stamp duty change in his Budget today, leaving the growing ranks of industry reformists disappointed.

Reform to stamp duty land tax topped the industry’s wishlist ahead of the Budget, with many arguing that the tax gums up the market and adds friction to property transactions.

Stamp duty is already deterring millions of people from moving home and weighing heavily on housing transactions, according to research from Yorkshire Building Society in September.

However, the chancellor made very few property-related announcements in his Budget speech, and left stamp duty completely untouched.

The silence on stamp duty is disappointing but not surprising. Prime minister Andy Burnham had previously ruled out reform to stamp duty in the 2026 Autumn Budget.

The Conservatives have pledged to abolish stamp duty if they win the next general election.

Anthony Curtis, director of mortgage broker FORTO Finance, said: “To my mind, this Budget just tinkered around the edges. John Healey ignored the property and housing sectors almost entirely.”

Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Richmond estate agency Antony Roberts, says: “What I’d like to see is stamp duty reform that helps people move, rather than another levy on staying put. At the moment, the biggest cost of buying one extra bedroom is often the tax itself, so people are staying where they are.

“If you cut stamp duty for main residences, especially for downsizers, homes would come back onto the market for families, and people could move for jobs. That would do more for growth than squeezing the same homeowners again.”