The analysis, conducted in partnership with IHS Markit, found that the cost of the largest properties have risen at twice the rate of the smallest homes since the onset of the pandemic. Flats have seen prices increase by 2.5% over the same period, while terraced and semi-detached homes enjoyed price rises of 4%.

While all regions of the UK have seen increases in the average price of a typical detached property, there are striking regional differences. The biggest gains were seen in the North West and Yorkshire & Humberside, where prices increased by more than 6%. The East Midlands and the South West also saw strong increases, which in cash terms meant that detached homes in all four regions increased by more than £20,000 over the period.

The South East and Greater London saw far smaller gains at around 2%, with Halifax suggesting that price rises in these areas may have been limited by the Stamp Duty holiday threshold of £500,000. However the smallest rise of all was seen in Scotland, at just 0.7%.

The fortunes of detached properties are rather different from those of flats. Prices have fallen over the period in the West Midlands (-0.1%), Yorkshire & Humberside (-0.3%) and the South West (-1.6%).

As a result it is those moving up the ladder, rather than purchasing a first property, who have seen the price increases first hand. For those moving between houses, prices have typically risen by 4% since March, compared to a more modest 2.4% for first-time buyers.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said that there has been a “fundamental shift” in demand from buyers as a result of spending more time working from home, and the resulting enthusiasm for having more space. He added that it’s this push for larger properties that has driven the “mini-boom” seen in the housing market since lockdown restrictions first started to ease.

Galley continued: “This level of price inflation hasn’t deterred would-be buyers though, as in the three months up to September, we received more mortgage applications from both first-time buyers and homemovers than at any time since 2008. However, we continue to sound a note of caution on the longer-term prospects for house price inflation, with the full economic impact of the pandemic likely to be felt more keenly over the winter.”