We didn't really need John \'Thumper\' Prescott to let the cat out of the bag, did we?

He might have let the precise date slip, but there can't be many people around who don't know there's an election coming in May, early May at that.

Not that there was a great deal in the Budget that pointed to an election.  But, as it affects the property market, the Budget turned out to be, well, pretty much as expected.

Stamp Duty was the key move by the Chancellor and a doubling of the starting threshold will go someway to helping first time buyers into the market, which is good all the way up to the top of the buying and selling chain.

But, the Stamp Duty issue is still not resolved and does not reflect the state or the growth of the property market.