You did promote the purchase of houses with vastly over inflated prices on national TV and a lot of people who bought these will be in huge financial difficulty as the price plummets. Maybe an apology would endear yourself more to people rather than trying avoid any blame.

Neil, Dundee, UK

I'm a potential first time buyer and I can safely say that stamp duty doesn't even enter my thinking. It's an irrelevance. No first time buyer in their right mind would dip their toe into the property market at the moment. Prices will fall 30-50%, only then will the market recover.

Tom Williams, London, England

Kirstie

But, you are actually right! Over the long term property prices do not go down.

Costas, Cyprus,

KIRSTY if you are reading this, I DETEST you !
You have ramped property prices every chance you get and 'helped' cause this property bubble.
I hope all those people you cajoled into buying "because in a years time it will have trebbled in price" take you to the cleaners and hold you accountable!

wendy , romford, essex

Most of the people on here are thick as 2 short planks and will be asking themselves in 12 months "why didnt i buy in 2008 when i could have got a good deal". Keep throwing your money at landlords instead of reducing the term of a mortgage - makes excellent sense? By the way, prices always go up!

Michael, Leeds,

I've never liked Kirsty Allsop and her co presenter. Just the way their brains works. Materialists to the extreme.
Unfortunately they've managed to deceive a lot of people to their way of thinking.
A home is for living in; not a way to make quick bucks. We have the stock markets for that.

Michael, London,

What "HPC brigade" Phil. I suppose you would rather we all join your ranks and say "let them eat cake". There's a problem with millions across the country terrified of losing their homes. The comments here are trying to make sense of the situation. Or maybe we shoul all say its down to "stamp duty"

mike, London,

Wow, I rather liked Kirstie until I read this incredibly ill-informed piece. Housing "wealth" as an economic strategy is failing in many places around the world, and we will all pay the price. Kirstie will, of course, be better insulated from the consequences than most of us.

CinToronto, Toronto, Canada

I do not blame Kirstie Allsop for the property crash. I blame her, and people like her, for the boom that preceded it.

She continues to fail to grasp the point that many people do not want extortionate house prices. Where was her campaign for lower stamp duty when prices were skyrocketing?

Deanna, Manchester,

I hadn't realised that the people who listened to the show were the same ones who decided on stamp duty!

Only 5% of people watching these shows have to react to cause price distortions for the non-BTL..not everyone goes out and cooks what Delia says, but enough to cause a spike!

Trevor, South east,

I remember Kirsty a few weeks stressing how important it was for the Government to do something about stamp duty to aid buyers etc. Meaningless. Nil stamp duty to tempt buyers in this market ? - I don't think so

John, Hove, England

Kirstie is at fault less than Property Ladder.

PL promoted the idea that anybody, regardless of financial/property management skills, could buy a house - take a year to add one/two trivial features (other than decorating it) - and walk off with 20%, 30%, 40% profit

Suckers fell for it

Clive, Surrey,

And yat, and yet, and yet.... didn't you at one point during the past year appear on News 24 when pushing for a stamp duty cut and claim that trade in property (an asset price bubble, no more, no less) was the "foundation" of the entire economy?

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

Anyone who relies on a TV programme for financial advice when considering the biggest outlay of their life's deserve everything they get for being so stupid and irresponsible.

Keith Jones, Korat, Thailand

Dear Kirsty,
<br/>
<br/>The reason you have been vilified is because you refused to accept that prices, as well as go up, might also go down.
<br/>
<br/>When will you be eating your hat?
<br/>
<br/>Kind regards,

Tristan Seymour-Sloan, London, UK

Is KA looking for new employment? Her article is as lightweight as her TV programme.

David, Guildford,

I would advise Allsop to bring some ketchup to ease the passing of her hat

More than most of the lemmings will get once their overpriced houses are repossessed

Billy, Cardiff , Wales

Kirsty et al are simply scapegoats. What people are trying to get out of is their shame at their own lack of personal responsibility. Irrespective of what is on TV, people make their own decisions on what to buy, how much to pay etc. If they are easliy led like sheep, they deserve the slaughthouse

Dave Alexander, Newry, Co. Down,

Petra Howard, if people are on £20k they should set their sights lower than the average £160-£180k property shouldn't they (8-9x income)? There are plenty of one bed flats all over the country for under £100k.

phil, london,

Kirstie, i have a suggestion for a new programme.

Repossession, Repossession, Repossession.

Mohmed Mayet, Batley, UK

Stamp duty was increased in 1997 at the start of the boom, and was increased more as prices went up. It is NOT the cause of the slump in sales - that is due to lax lending and overstretch by greedy banks...and greedy people who watch your show.

So no, I don't blame you. Greed is 100% to blame.

Jon Cooper, herts, UK,

The stump duty is peanuts compared to the amount house prices will drop..all it would have done is extending the bubble for a bit longer.
Why is it not going into you head Kirsty..that people cant pay 8-9 times their annual income on a house..stamp duty or no stamp duty...

Petra Howard, pinner, middlesex

Ms Allsopps single minded determination that the market would not crash, or even drop in value at all, coupled with her trusted position within the british public psyche led to people buying houses they would not otherwise have bought, so Im afraid she is partly to blame. (salt with that?)

john martin, oxford, england

I see the HPC brigade have leapt on this and added their usual ridiculous comments. Yawn. I suspect you are all going to be very disappointed.

phil, london,

Kirstie - Cheap money and the herd mentality has just done what’s been done time and time again. It’s certainly not your fault, it’s human nature to react the way we have. Property has boomed and is/will crash across the western world, stamp duty is not the cause and it's NOT the solution you claim.

Andrew, London, UK

You are a self-proclaimed expert. You encouraged people to over-stretch themselves and they will now endure the misery of negative equity. You should take some responsibility for mis-advising people...shame on you.

John Doe, Manchester,

Good to see the next government is thinkinh about sensible policy which will avoid another housing and credit bubble.

Except they've got you and you think it's all about stamp duty. Oh dear.

La G, London,

In L L Loc (v.good program) they took a budget and got the best for it. Do you think it was their duty to ask the buyers if they could afford £x,000? Surely that was the job of the bank/mortgage advisor.

They should teach about mortgages at school so people are more savvy about these things.

Stuart, Bedford, England

Bad advice. Now K is advocating dropping the stamp duty for first time buyers. In other words, try to jump start the housing market by causing a further disequilibrium which will eventually adjust more savagely with FTBs bearing the risk. K, do the maths. FTB save a couple % or wait for 50% fall?

RF, London, UK

Hi Kirsty,

As evidenced on youtube, its now time to eat your hat.

Mark Davies, Chester,

Kirsty on stamp duty - 'a tax that without doubt has contributed to the drop in the number of house sales'

It is the same as it was last year. What's different is the lack of funds available to banks and cautiousness being exhibited when lending. She clearly has no understanding of the situation.

Ben, London,

Last time I heard anything from Kirstie she was on GMTV a month or 2 ago confidently saying that now was a good time to buy. Seemed like bad advice to me.

Now she claims she's no property ramper.

Kirstie, as you once said you're a one trick pony. Your time has passed. Time to fade into obscurity.

Dom, Kingston, UK

You now have a slim chance to prove that you are the shrewd property expert you purport to be, and avert the criticism that you and your kind created the problem...
Call the market for what it is: a bubble of epic and damaging proportions and help bring it back to normality.

Greg, High Wycombe, uk

Unfortunately K, you did not realise that property is NOT a one way bet and to encourage that kind of vein of greed in the UK public was probably not a good idea!

Austin Tassletine, South West , UK

With the crash now in full swing you can eat that hat Kirsty and leave the economics to the big boys and girls. This has nothing to do with stamp duty, HIPS etc".

The banks have turned the taps off. People are going to lose their homes. You contributed to that with your incessant chirping.

Nick, London,

Kirstie Allsopp is partly responsible for whipping up the frenzy in house buying that is now ending with this crash.

michael clarke, High Wycombe, UK

There is a massive amount of embedded energy that goes into brick houses when compared with timber-frame construction. You should encourage eneyone to abandon brick houses in favour of locally-sourced timber.

Richard Holmes, Dudley,

I think Kirsty is clutching at straws, Of course it's not stamp duty that is a factor that no ones buying.

She knows it and we know it, she is realising that now her 'little hobby on the telly' has ended, and people are saddled with debt, they are mad and she is left holding a big OOOPS sign.

Aden, Huddersfield,

Leave the adorable Kirsty alone! Apart from Stephanie Flanders she's one of the few highlights of my week.

Clive, Chesterfield, UK

You surely can't be blamed for the crash. You are to be blamed for the irresponsible ramping of property as a lifestyle choice and speculation rather than shelter and basis for a family.

You should realise you contributed to damage the core values of this country.

Also, how about eating that hat?

Riccardo Tonelli, Gateshead, UK

Ah, a witch hunt - the pack's blood is up and has scented its quarry.

Bill, Golburn, Australia

Perhaps instead of me buying two houses you could eat two hats.

Percy, London,

Property TV shows were *without doubt* influential in whipping up the property frenzy, and portraying property as an easy and quick way to make money without really having to work for it. The blame is that we lapped it up and forgot history, and hence the greed-fear tipping point we are now in.

Richard, Guildford, Surrey

Can't say that I've ever watched your show. Sounds good though, when is it on?

Keeley Stitty, Tunbridge Wells,

Kirstie for a £250K house the stamp duty is £2.5K and for a £260K house it's £7.8K. If the price drop from 250K to 245K you'll save £50 in stamp duty. So that & not price matters? Time to eat that hat, enjoy it. The game is over, so please accept you are part of the problem (but not the solution).

Dave, Calne,

No, you're not to blame, however you all too often described a house as an 'investment' rather than a home. You encouraged people to over spend, if they had a budget of £200k, they were always properties shown worth over 10% of that. It's this that helped inflate prices way beyond their true values

Paul, Camberley,

With all the bad news, seeing estate agents on the dole, does cheer us up, even in NZ. Here they work on Commission only and charge at least 4 percent and up.

arttel, Auckland, NZ

"Don't blame me for the property crash." Kirstie, it's not started yet. Stamp Duty is small beans. Forget buying. While the prices drop for the next 5 years, I'm happy marrying and procreating - while renting - before I buy my home at an almighty (-60%) discount from absurd 2007 prices in 2011.

Phillip Spender, London, UK

Kirsty you left yourself no back door!
Such was the conviction of your views. Now you are stuck in a house that is crashing around you and feeling every brick.

D Louis, Coventry, UK

When are people (and Kirsty) going to get it into their head that high house prices are NOT a good thing. Very few people benefit. That's the huge psychological change that we need to get over.

Bob Jones, London,

I think you should marinate your hat for a day or so before eating it as this will soften the material and make it easier to chew

Dom, London, UK

You are not the cause of the property crash, nice that you admit we have one. When do you publicly eat your hat?

You have aided with the myth that property prices only go up, and that it's perfectly OK to pay ridiculous prices for houses and be glad to do so! Negative equity misery will be rife...

Gary, Reading,

The average price will have to come down to 100K approx before the average First Time Buyer can come into the market. I would rather a £70,000 drop in price and pay the £2,000 stamp duty . Falling House Prices is great for the First Time Buyer, I am looking forward to biggest Crash in history.

John, Derby,

I've seen her in action maoning and complaining if potential buyers don't look like they'll do as instructed. The audience get the brain wash on how buyings the only option as prices will increase and if they don't over extend to buy now they'll miss the chance forever. Its offensive & nauseating.

Fred, Cheshire, UK

Kirsty if you are to blame for the property crash I will eat my hat.

Paddy, Belfast,

Are you for real? House prices have already plummeted far in excess of a stamp duty cut...and what makes you think this wouldn’t be factored back into the asking price anyway? All the media are doing now is reporting the facts. Were you complaining when the media were talking property prices up?

Tim, Bristol, England

"If a young couple can't get their first step on the ladder and buy an apartment together, they will put off getting married. And, if another couple can't trade up from their flat to a house, they will put off the business of procreation. "
...Precisely why house prices need to come way way down!

Tony, St Albans, UK

The far more important question is when you will be publically eating your hat (you promised on a number of occassions that if property prices dropped, you would do so), and will tickets be available?

Paul, London, UK

"They (Estate agents) are closing down because so few of us are actually moving."

No, Kirsty, they are closing because so few houses are selling. Houses are not selling because mortgages are more difficult to get for ridiculously overinflated prices. Sales will pick up when sellers drop prices.

AndrewS, Brampton,

getting rid of stamp duty is not the answer. It was there on teh way up, and it will be there on the way down. Its a bubble Kirsty... don't you get it?

Matthew, London ,

This venom is absurd. People who are already thinking of buying (usually after searching for some time) ask Kirsty and Phil for help. They help get a house within budget, often well below the asking price, demonstrating important bargaining skills to help lower the price. Hardly sinister.

Paul Williams, Ipswich, UK

The quote of "puffing up" must be the understatement of the year when referring to the most overinflated asset bubble of all time.
Surely the main blame lies with the financial advisors who have been dishing out multiple salary self cert. mortgages in their thousands.

Allan, Inverness,

I have never heard Jamie Oliver suggest it desirable to eat 2 dinners.
Ms Allsop had a TV series dedicated to promoting 2 house life styles.
She did indeed directly promote "binging" on property, and demand drives up price.

A plea of innocence, but a verdict of guilty.

Michael, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

It's not 'plain silly' to blame you and your ilk. You didn't 'force' anyone to land themselves with mega-debt just to get on a mythical 'property ladder', but you did normalise it. You are responsible for making people feel it was socially acceptable and desirable to buy stupidly overpriced houses.

Adrian, Manchester,

Most sane people in this country never wanted to see whole generations priced out of a home. People like Allsop seemed to revel in the boom, hyping up the 'hotness' of the property market at every opportunity

Sadly, somany people took on vast debts spurred on LLL and the like.

David, Bristol, UK

You told the nation "Why rent when you can buy". The answer is you rent if property isn't affordable... you don't buy at any price but that is the mentality you encouraged.

Hang your head in shame for all the people who have been trapped into negative equity and back breaking debt as a result.

Mike, Edinburgh, UK

If Jamie Oliver told his viewers that

"if you mash peanuts, you won't have an allergic reaction to them,"

he definitely WOULD be held accountable in the press and most likely in the the Courts for spreading falsehoods.

your advice has turned out to be just as lethal, and just as false.

Joe, Devon, England

Kirstie, when will you understand that stamp duty is an irrelevance. The market has been inflated to bursting by cheap credit and to some extend the ramping by commentators such as yourself. We are now realising that as a nation we can not get rich by selling over priced houses to each other.

david barker, eastbourne,

Getting rid of stamp-duty will not influence my decision (as an FTB) to buy. So I save £2,000 on tax ... just waiting 3 months in todays plummeting market will treble that saving. The market is vastly overinflated (30-40% IMHO) and needs to correct by that for us FTBs to re-enter the game.

Chris, Wrexham, Wales

I cannot afford to buy a house, even on the strength of two wages because prices have risen beyond all reason and logic.

I will be buying a house when I can put down a deposit of 10 % and borrow only 3.5 times my salary alone to make up the difference. Otherwise I won't be having children.

PHill G, Preston, Lancashire

Ms Allsopp, we don't blame you or Ms Beeny for the bubble bursting, we blame you for helping to inflate it and encouraging lots of gullible people to borrow beyond their means. Good to know that Mr Cameron has you on board for the next property bubble which will be a Tory one.

Paul, Coventry,

This is misguided. I have never heard Jamie Oliver promoting overeating but I have heard Kirsty Allsopp state that property is a good investment and infer prices will not go down.

Her infamous quote is that if property prices drop, "I'll eat my hat"

Maybe Jamie Oliver will cook your hat for you.

Leon, Glasgow,