AS Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the current stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland – with no stamp duty paid on the first £500,000 of a property purchase – will be extended until 30 June, industry bodies are calling for things north of the border to follows suit.

Galbraith's Simon Brown said: "This is welcome news but we would urge Kate Forbes MSP to replicate the extension to the nil rate bands for LBTT in Scotland. Furthermore the Cabinet Secretary should consider avoiding a ‘cliff edge’ end to the scheme, by allowing transactions that are already under way to be eligible for the tax reduction for the remainder of this year.

"The market in Scotland has responded well over the past 12 months but the priority must be to help restore a good level of confidence for buyers in all parts of the UK, as we emerge from the effects of the pandemic.

"As a firm we have experienced a very active market in 2020, however the continued economic uncertainty may have a dampening effect going forward."