Giles Lawton, director of Savills estate agents in Oxford, said it had been important that the Chancellor delivered a "safe" budget and welcomed plans to build 70,000 more homes on allocated sites in the UK.

"The housing market has been holding up locally and the big drivers are interest rates and employment.

"Building more houses will help the market, although widescale house building for example in north Oxford has done nothing to dilute demand.

"But first time buyers will welcome the fact they do not have to pay stamp duty on shared equity properties because clearly the whole market starts with them."