In the first few minutes of his speech, the Chancellor assured the nation that the housing market was “stabilising”. This may be why he did so little to ensure that the recovery will be sustained. Seemingly, he also thought it unnecessary to stimulate the beleaguered construction sector. Barratt, Galliford Try and other housebuilders expressed their surprise at the absence of schemes to support the provision of more houses. Alistair Darling also considers he has done enough to save households from repossession, although more families have stayed in their homes, thanks to low interest rates than through his intervention.

Three groups, in particular, will feel some resentment towards Mr Darling. Struggling first-time buyers, modestly well-off senior citizens and a few super-rich bankers who had hoped to be very soon occupying an even grander pad. Mr Darling, however, will be disappointed to learn that other bankers are putting previous bonus payouts into their dream homes. Lindsay Cuthill of Savills’ Fulham office yesterday received £12 million worth of offers on houses in his smart South West London patch.

Chancellors don’t like bankers much. But they are usually solicitious towards first-time buyers. Instead Mr Darling - who seems weirdly unconcerned about garnering the votes of twentysomethings - declined to extend the stamp duty holiday on properties up to £175,000. He also did little of substance to encourage the banks to lend more to would-be owner occupiers who, currently, cannot get finance unless they have a large deposit saved. There was also no pledge of future help onto the housing ladder - available if twentysomethings swept Labour to election victory. Quite the reverse, in fact. In 2011, twentysomethings will be even less able to afford a home of their own, as they, like all workers, will be paying more tax, thanks to the national insurance increase.

In 2007, the Government promised to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £350,000; now it will remain at £325,000 until 2011. The limit for couples will be £650,000. Nicholas Leeming of Zoopla, the property website, calculates that 102,525 more family homes will be dragged into the tax net as a result. This change of heart will have the most effect on middle income households. The really well-off tend to minimise the inheritance tax burden on their estates, although Mr Darling has made this trickier than before. PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the accountants, spied in the small print a clampdown on the use of trusts to avoid inheritance tax.

The Pre-Budget Report’s other anti-avoidance provisions were mostly targeted at bankers - perhaps to make first-time buyers feel better about being neglected. Lucian Cook, Savills’ director of residential research, had estimated that around £2 billion-worth of bonus cash would be put into property. He now expects less cash to be spent, but points out that other financial services executives may not covered by the measures. David Adams of Chesterton Humberts, the estate agents, points out that if bankers grow alarmed and move offshore, their homes in town and country will be snapped up by wealthy foreigners - who pay no tax at all.

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