Stamp duty reform for first time buyers has taken pride of place in the Budget speech of Chancellor Phillip Hammond.

The radical move to help young people struggling to get on the property ladder will also apply to homes worth up to half a million pounds in 'high value' areas - meaning 95 per cent of first-time buyers will see a cut in the amount they pay and 80 per cent will pay nothing.

First time buyers purchasing an average property will benefit to the tune of £1,660, while some will be £5,000 better off, according to the Treasury.

Mr Hammond said the cut - which will come into force immediately - would be teamed with a wider £44billion push to build 300,000 extra new homes a year by the mid 2020s, including in five new 'garden towns', and should 'revive the home-owning dream'.