Hot on the heels of My Home Move announcing that last December’s Stamp Duty reforms are saving the average buyer £1,500, Halifax has announced that the reforms are saving an average of £4,500.

The Halifax has based its sums on an average price of £273,531.

However, according to its own latest index, out this morning the Halifax says the average house price is £204,552.

We asked about this curious anomaly.

We were told that Land Registry data had been used to cover all transactions that had taken place across England and Wales. However, Halifax figures had been used for first-time buyers.

According to the Halifax, Stamp Duty Land Tax paid on an average price of £273,531 would have been £8,205 under the old system and is now £3,676.

We also asked the Halifax how their figures do not seem to have taken house price inflation into account, since even if £273,531 is the average house price now, that would not have been the case a year ago. The Halifax this morning reports annual house price inflation of 9%.

A spokesperson told us: “We are simply saying that someone paying today’s average house price of £273,531 is paying £3,676 in Stamp Duty. They would have paid £8,205 under the old system. Hence a saving of £4,529 due simply to the changes in the way the tax is calculated.”

The Land Registry does release other pricing information, but its monthly index is currently quoting an average house price across England and Wales of £186,350.