First-timers push house prices up

First-time buyers rushing to jump on the property ladder before the end of a stamp duty holiday helped house prices jump 2.2% in March, the Halifax has revealed.

The bank said the average house price was £163,803 in March as the number of completed sales rose to its highest level since late 2009 before the threshold for stamp duty fell from £250,000 to £125,000 at the end of the month.