WASHINGTON – Concerns about the faltering economy and reluctant home buyers pushed builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes down further in January.

The latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped a single point to a new record low of 8 in January. The HMI uses a score of 50 or above to indicate that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

“Clearly conditions in the nation’s housing market aren’t getting any better and they aren’t going to get better until the federal government takes substantial action to encourage qualified buyers to get back in the market,” said NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, WV.

Regionally, the HMI fell to 10 in the Northeast, held even in the Midwest, rose one point to 11 in the South and fell three points to a record low of 4 in the West in January. Read more.