Autumn homebuyers have much to gain from getting a move on.

Until the end of March next year the threshold at which the tax on house sales is paid by buyers has been raised from the usual level of £125,000 to £500,000.

Families buying a new home this winter could be as much as £15,000 better off thanks to the Stamp Duty holiday according to money experts.

The government’s incentive for boosting the house market is intended to have knock-on benefits for the wider economy. That’s the plan, Stan. A house move invariably leads to a spending spree on furnishings and shiny new gadgets.

“UK house prices jumped two per cent in August to hit a record high after pent up demand and the stamp duty holiday combined to power the market upwards,” reported Halifax managing director Russell Galley.

He said the rise has been “fuelled by the release of pent up demand, a strong desire amongst some buyers to move to bigger properties and of course the temporary cut to stamp duty.”

The financial advantage of bringing forward plans to move house hasn’t been lost on families in Bucks.

Last weekend first time buyers and downsizers were at the front of the queue when family-owned company W E Black put the 14 one and two bedroom flats on the market at the company’s Queens Court development in Hazlemere.

Building work on the site at 352 Amersham Road is scheduled to be completed in the next few weeks.

Price for a 125 year lease on a one bedroom pad starts at £275,000 and from £355,000 for a two bed. The sole penthouse on the development is £430,000.

Each flat has its own parking space – the penthouse has two. The show apartment is open from 10-5 from Tuesday to Saturday.

Meanwhile next Saturday (September 19) CALA Homes will be opening two houses to show case the attributes of light and space on the Roman Park development in Icknield Way, Tring.

For the safety of buyers and sales staff the housebuilder will be operating an appointment only system to view the show homes. Call 01442 816567 to book a slot.

The site is just over a mile from Tring’s shopping centre on the border of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

When it’s finished there will be 266 new homes at Roman Park. The first phase is a mix of two, three, four and five bedroom designs. Prices start at £399,000.

Buyers with an existing house to sell can part exchange old for new. The option offered by CALA saves buyers the expense of estate agents’ fees and enables the sale and purchase transactions to coincide.

Another developer due to put a collection of flats on the market this month is Inland Homes.

The Beaconsfield-based housebuilder is one of the UK’s leading regeneration specialists.

They build stylish new homes in areas such as the western side of Wycombe town centre where redevelopment provides much needed new homes to buy and rent for private sector purchasers as well as for those on housing association waiting lists.

Over the weekend of September 26/27 Inland will be releasing for sale the latest phase of apartments at the Wycombe development called Centre Square.

Coming on the market are seven one- and two-bedroom flats in a block called The Pavilion Apartments and 36 contemporary one- and two-bedroom pads in a building called Alexandra House. Each flat will be sold with an allocated parking space in the underground car park.

As well as off road parking, future residents who come to live in these two town centre developments will also have the benefit of a private courtyard garden.

To ease the financial strain for buyers in the early years of home ownership, most new developments including those in Tring and Wycombe have a number of properties in the price range up to £600,000 where first time buyers eligible for the government’s Help to Buy scheme can move in with a deposit of five per cent and an interest-free five year government loan for 20 per cent of the purchase price.

The deposit for a one-bed property costing £225,000 at Centre Square using Help to Buy is £11,250. Two-beds are priced from £310,000.

Happy house hunting!