The pandemic caused many Londoners to re-think their living arrangements - which sometimes meant leaving the capital behind for greener locations.

And it seems one city in particular proved to be a popular new home for many who still want to be able to commute into London on occasion.

The town of Salisbury in Wiltshire has seen soaring house prices over the pandemic and lockdown and the changing priorities of the city highflyers could be to blame.

Salisbury had the highest growth in house prices of any UK city over the pandemic and was found to be in the nation’s top 20 least affordable cities this year.

Hamptons’ Associate Director Chris Husson-Martin, who has worked in estate agency for 34 years, told the Salisbury Journal that more than 50 per cent of their applicant database now have either a London or a home counties postcode.

According to Hamptons’ Wiltshire-wide data, in 2019 only five per cent of Hamptons’ Wiltshire house buyers were from London, this soared to 15 per cent so far this year which is the highest percentage in their ten-year data set.

The average house cost in Salisbury (£392,355) at 10 times the average salary (£39,154).

London ranked outside of the top five least affordable cities for the first time in six years, but the average house price is still high at £564,695 compared to the average salary of £51,257.

The average Hamptons property in Wiltshire also went for 102 per cent of the asking price between 2020-2021, the first time this figure has gone above 100 per cent since data begins in 2009.

In terms of why Londoners are ditching London-living for greener spaces like Salisbury, Mr Husson-Martin suggests: “The change in lifestyles, with more people working from home, has meant our beautiful city [Salisbury] is one of the hotspots for those seeking a change in life style.

“They can move from London, and buy homes in glorious villages, stunning vistas and everything our city has to offer with our tagline being, ‘the city in the countryside’, this has never been truer.

“That’s why we have seen so many people wanting to buy, and this has had a direct impact on our house prices and continues to do so.

“Our links back to London are attractive, and if you wish to commute back, you likely will only have to go into the office a few days a week now.

“Our broadband is good and putting up with a 30 minute longer journey compared to Winchester, means you can enjoy a better housing stock and certainly better value for money than Winchester.

“We also have some of the best state and private schooling in the country, and this is regularly quoted by applicants as being their driver for bringing their family to [Salisbury], and its surrounding villages.”