EMMA Trimble is typical of the thousands of young professionals desperately trying to find a house she can afford and she is pleased that Mr Brown has gone some way to help.

But Emma, 23, an account exec with Manchester based Spin Media, is disappointed that the stamp duty change applies right across the board and not just to struggling first-time buyers like herself.

She said: "It has not been targeted specifically at people getting their first mortgage but to every property under '120,000 which means investors will benefit as well - and they are one of the reasons prices have gone up so much anyway, so I don't think that is very fair and I don't think it is going to be very effective."

The landlord has sold the house she is currently renting in West Didsbury and she needs to be out by June - adding to the pressure to find her first home.

She said: "On my salary I can afford a mortgage of '60,000 which seems to buy nothing. I am joining with a friend who can borrow the same amount but even in the '120,000 bracket we are struggling to find anything suitable.

"Changes to the banding of stamp duty will help - it would save us '1,200 which will go a long way towards legal fees and furniture - but I don't think it is going to change things much overall.

"It is not going to bring down the price of property to levels we can afford."