Despite the pandemic, house price inflation was high during much of 2020. Lower lending rates, changes in housing preferences and a limited supply of new housing have contributed to increased price pressures, especially in Oslo. Our analysis based on registered housing transactions recorded by the Norwegian Mapping Authority points to a shift in demand from larger flats to detached houses after strict measures to contain the Covid pandemic were introduced in March 2020. This shift is particularly evident in the capital and coincides with higher house price inflation in the area surrounding Oslo than in Oslo proper. The findings indicate that the pandemic may have changed people’s housing preferences somewhat and increased the attractiveness of living in larger dwellings farther from the city centre.