The National Association of Estate Agents is frustrated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s 11 th Budget.

The NAEA believes it provides little consolation for home buyers and sellers by skirting around stamp duty and inheritance tax. The NAEA does, however, welcome moves to increase energy efficiency in UK homes.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive at the NAEA, said: “Once again the Chancellor has refused to address some of the most important issues head on. As national house prices continue to rise and the cost of living increases, it is first time buyers who are really suffering. It’s about time the government took real steps to ease their plight.”

The association is pleased that the Chancellor raised inheritance tax thresholds, but disappointed that inheritance tax has not been brought in line with house price inflation. “Brown is merely extending the slowly rising threshold he announced in the 2005/6 budget”, says King. “The progress from the 2009/10 threshold of £325,000 announced last year, up to £350,000 by 2010/11 does not go far enough, quickly enough.”

Carbon zero homes will now be exempt from stamp duty until 2012, as confirmed in the budget. King says: “This has, however, conveniently allowed the Chancellor to side-step the wider issue of stamp duty, most notably the fact that while property prices have continued to rise at a fast pace over the last couple of years, stamp duty thresholds have remained almost static.”