Pressure on Scotland to match he

● Stamp duty abolished for homes valued at up to £300,000 ● Support for smaller housebuilding companies welcomed

and see how the Scottish Government tackles this to ensure there is a level playing field north of the Border,” he added.

He said the Chancellor’s move provided a welcome opportunity to review the LBTT structure and tax thresholds in Scotland to stimulate the property market.

A first-time buyer in Scotland can expect to pay £4,600 oflbttona£300,000property and £23,350 on a £500,000 property, compared with new figures of £0 and £10,000 respectively in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Housing experts said while first-time buyers will welcome the move, there is concern it could lead to some house sellers digging their heels in on price when dealing with firsttime buyers, and potentially pushing up prices in highdemand areas.

Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) Propertymark, said the move will increase the demand for firsttime buyer properties – “and if we don’t have the supply it will push prices up”.

But Sarah Beeny, owner of estate agent Tepilo.com, said she believes the move is unlikely to make much difference to the market overall.

She said: “A reduction in stamp duty for second-steppers and downsizers would make a much bigger difference, allowing people to move up and down the market more freely and cost-effectively.”

As well as the stamp duty cut, the Chancellor announced £44 billion of capital funding, loans and guarantees including a further £1.5bn for a fund to be targeted specifically at smaller housebuilders, which prompted Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, to describe it as a “Budget for builders”.

But he said a skills crisis in the industry poses a major challenge to the plans.

“With Brexit round the corner the next few years will bring unprecedented challenges to the construction sector, the UK government will need to make sure that the sector continues to have access to skilled EU workers,” he said.

However, shares in major UK homebuilders including Bellway, Berkeley Group and Barratt Development fell after the Chancellor revealed a plan to shake up the law in relation to land banks.

Some builders have been accused of sitting on land banks and developing the sites slowly, as a way of gradually increasing the supply of new homes to keep prices high. The new initiative could see land reclaimed that if it isn’t developed quickly enough.

Jan Crosby, UK head of housing at KPMG, described it as “clever politics”

“One of the big problems is actually getting the planning system, and often multiple public sector stakeholders, to make more rapid decisions and actually grasp the nettle on complex sites.”

0 Help for small firms was cheered, but a change in the law on land banks saw building firms’ shares fall