Stamp duty residential receipts in the first three months of the year plunged 27% compared to the previous quarter as transactions fell, according to HMRC data.

It adds that first-time buyer relief claims were down 19% to 25,300, pulling in £120m over the same three-month period.

Overall, residential receipts fell 13% from a year ago, while FTB claims slipped by 2% for homes in England and Northern Ireland over 12 months.

The government numbers body reports that residential property transactions were down by 19% in the first three months than the previous quarter, and 8% lower from a year ago.

Last week, stamp duty receipts for homebuyers tumbled 24% to £11.6bn in the year to March, again reflecting a fall in home transactions over the last 12 months, according to UK Finance.

UK property transactions fell by more than a fifth to 1.2 million homes in the year to March, while mortgage lending last year was down 23% to £130bn, said the banking trade body.