Boards
Stamp duty hol suggestion - indicates Gordon Brown hasnt a clue what hes doing
Really, its like having limited water and throwing what little you have on a fire that is no way nearing burning out....its also like throwing it in the mifddle of the fire, not like aiming it to try to deflect the course.
The small amount of benefit that the stamp duty relief will offer (at present) will not be anywhere near sufficient to convince poeople that its a good idea to buy now, as they would quite rightly estimate that the benefit will be wipoed out withing a few months of continuing house price drops (which they will continue to do)
If he is an optimist (unlike me) which I must assume that he is.....cos he hoping to return to 'the normality prior to the crash' then he should at least wait until the housing prices return to a more 'real' level.....at present (if we werent undergoing a far mor fundamental collapse) the house prioces are still grossly overinflated (Im looking at the whole bigger picturehere).
By chucking the stamp duty relief at a moment when it would make bugger all difference (even assuming optimism that it will bottom out eventually) shows an utter panic driven response......this action really suggests that it is done with no thought whatsoever......just a pathetic attempt to show that 'something is being done'
excuse me but im going off to the loo to laugh manicly and weep uncontrolably simultaniously