Stamp duty is currently charged at 1 per cent on properties sold for between £175,000 and £250,000, with the tax jumping to 3 per cent above this level, before rising to 4 per cent on homes worth more than £500,000.
The stamp duty freeze - which will save buyers a maximum of £1,750 - came as the first major move in the attempted autumn relaunch by Gordon Brown, who also announced a range of measures to try and help home owners who face having their properties repossessed because of the credit crisis.
Mr Brown said: "Homeowners need to know that we will do everything we can to keep the housing market moving forward. Help with stamp duty, help for first-time buyers, help to build more social housing, help to take unsold properties off the housing market and help for people who get into difficulties.