For those interested in what will happen when the stamp duty holiday comes to an end on December 31, the surveyors' body RICS has done a little bit of research among its members.

Basically, the results seem to suggest that by and large the effect on property transactions will be muted and will not cause a swell in the number of people looking to buy or sell their homes in the run up to 2010.

And when the tax threshold rises in the New Year estate agents in most regions don't think there will be a fall in transactions.

There is however quite a bit of regional variation in the views, which is not surprising given the spread in house prices regionally. London and the South East, for instance, unsurprisingly expect the least effect.

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