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I can't imagine anyone being in a position where they are about to purchase a £499,000 property, but are put off by the fact that they need an extra £5,000 to cover the stamp duty on the initial £300,000 element of the purchase price. I'm sure the £5,000 saving will be welcome (and will perhaps bring their purchase forward by a few months), but it's hardly going to revolutionise the property market. Those who are unable to afford properties as a result of wage stagnation and and historically high levels of property price increases will still be in the same position.

And as others have pointed out, in the long term, I imagine that the £5,000 stamp duty saving will just cause an increase in purchase prices - if buyers can afford an additional £5,000 towards their 10% deposit, then properties which are currently valued at £450,000 could increase to around £499,000.