First-time buyers seize duty bonus

The number of house sales edged up last month as first-time buyers looked to beat the stamp-duty holiday deadline but house prices continued to drop across the country, it has emerged.

A balance of 12% of estate agents reported rising sales in January, said the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), as the March 24 deadline for the end of the stamp-duty free period for first-time buyers on properties under £250,000 approaches.