+0.2 on previous index reading
At 25.3 in May 2020, the Housing Pulse was more or less flat on the month. With almost three in five households expecting house prices to fall over the coming year but just one in six expecting them to rise, the balance of responses remained deep in the red. While a pullback in the demand for housing is to be expected as the economy slows, the COVID-19 shock will also affect the supply of new homes. Indeed, nine in ten housebuilders reported a drop in business activity over the past three months as heightened uncertainty, material and equipment shortages and widespread site closures hampered output.