Stamp duty is to be suspended for a year on properties that cost up to £175,000 in a bid to boost the ailing housing market.

The long-awaited freeze on the unpopular levy is to take place from Wednesday.

It forms part of an emergency rescue package for hard-pressed home buyers and owners.

Gordon Brown has unveiled the flagship scheme to help people who are facing repossession stay in their homes.

The Prime Minister will hope it can tackle spiralling repossession figures and bolster his approval ratings, after Alistair Darling admitted the economy had hit a 60-year low.

Under the scheme, which will cost £1bn, vulnerable families will be offered the chance to sell their home and rent it back at a cheaper price.

They can sell the property to a registered social landlord who will clear the mortgage and then offer them a cheaper price in rent.

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