<p>The industry has been reacting to the chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement, with announcements including an end to stamp duty cuts in 2025 and a row back on the Investment Zones programme.</p> <p>Richard Cohen, ceo of St Arthur Homes, praised the government for retaining the stamp duty cuts until 2025. The move, he said, “shows how important a thriving housing market is to the wider UK economy”. </p> <p>Richard Freshwater, head of residential at Cheffins, added: “As mortgage companies are beginning to drop their rates, we are hopeful that this, combined with the news today, will help to ensure that property transactions will rise and we will see a healthy market as we head into the new year.”</p> <p>But others expressed concerns over the eventual reversal of the cuts, which previous chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had declared permanent. Lucian Cook, head of Savills’ residential research, said a return to the previous thresholds would be a “disappointment” to buyers in London and the south east. But he acknowledged that “time-limiting the previous change to stamp duty thresholds will offset some of the pressures on housing transactions over the short term”. </p> <p>Paul Woodward, finance director for affordable housing specialist AJC Group, also …