“Mansion tax change seems more political than anything"

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman: “Mansion tax change seems more political than anything bearing in mind the relatively little additional revenue to be raised and the likely deferred payment date. As a result, the impact on housing market activity will probably be minimal at worst.

"However, I wish the government luck trying to re-value all those properties and dealing with the arguments around the ‘pinch points’. As a result, the cost of the exercise could turn out to be higher than the extra sums making their way into Treasury coffers.

"As is often the case when attempting to analyse the Chancellor’s words on these occasions — it’s just as important what she says as what she doesn’t say."