The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has welcomed Ed Miliband’s stamp duty pledge.

Earlier today, Miliband outline Labour’s plan to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyer transactions on properties valued up to£300,000.

Mark Hayward, managing director of the NAEA, said: “This could be a real vote swinger for those looking to step on the housing ladder. Scrapping stamp duty for homes under the price of £300,000 would only mean good things for hopeful first time buyers. For many, hidden costs such as stamp duty can be the difference between being able to afford a home, and not being able to afford one.

“Our recent research showed that just under a third of house sales were made to first time buyers, and hopefully we’ll see this significantly increase over the next three years.”