The mortgage lender said the high levels of applications had coincided with house price growth over the last quarter of 3.3%, according to its house price index.

Indeed, its latest house price figures revealed a 7.3% increase annually and a rise of 1.6% monthly in September.

It means the average house price in the UK, according to Halifax, is £249,870.

Russell Galley, managing director, Halifax, said the rise in average prices to nearly £250,000 came after September saw a third consecutive month of substantial gains.

“The annual rate of change will naturally draw attention,” he said, “with the increase of 7.3% the strongest since mid-2016.

“Context is important with the annual comparison, however, as September 2019 saw political uncertainty weigh on the market. Few would dispute that the performance of the housing market has been extremely strong since lockdown restrictions began to ease in May.”

Fundamental shift in demand

Galley explained there had been what he described as a ‘fundamental shift’ in demand from buyers caused by the structural effects of increased home working and a desire for more space.

Meanwhile, he said, the stamp duty holiday was incentivising vendors and buyers to close deals at pace before the break ends next March. But he said this would only provide ‘temporary fillips’ and it was likely their impact would start to wane.

Galley added: “Therefore while it may come later than initially anticipated, we continue to believe that significant downward pressure on house prices should be expected at some point in the months ahead as the realities of an economic recession are felt ever more keenly.”

Joshua Elash, director of property lender MT Finance, described the numbers as ‘phenomenal’ – demonstrating the real extent and determination of the pent-up demand for homes and investment property across the country.

He added: “Transactional volumes are up again for the fourth consecutive month. Values are up again with the highest growth in over four years.

“With continued high levels of liquidity in the market, strong underlying demand, and a government committed to supporting the sector, it’s hard to see where this stops. The property market looks and feels like one of the only market sectors outside of the digital space which is thriving. It’s breathtaking.”

Mortgage figures

Halifax’s high levels of mortgage applications were in line with Bank of England figures released last week which showed approvals had soared to rates not seen since 2007.

And Mark Harris said Halifax’s bumper mortgage figures are likely to be experienced across the industry.

“It will not be the only lender in this position,” he said.

“Service levels have suffered across the board partly because of this level of demand, coupled of course with staff working from home, and delays further along the process with surveyors and solicitors also trying to cope with more work than usual.

“Brokers are busy, both with new business and remortgaging, as borrowers take advantage of cheap mortgage rates.”