Today, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their latest Housing Market Index (HMI) showing declining results for all components as the sentiment index remain near the worst level seen in over 20 years.

The NAHB-HMI, which tracks industry confidence, fell this month by two points to 15, back to its January level.

According to the survey which covered 477 builder-respondents, builders are seeing fewer prospective buyers and are feeling less optimistic about the likelihood of sales over the next six months.

Readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market. The last time the index registered a positive sentiment was in April 2006.

Sales of newly built homes plunged 11 percent to a record low in January, the third consecutive monthly decline. Sales of previously occupied homes, meanwhile, tumbled 7 percent — the sharpest drop since June.

High unemployment and tighter mortgage-lending standards are some of the factors seen keeping some buyers off the market.

For the other components, its reading for current sales conditions slipped two points to 15, foot traffic from prospective buyers fell 2 points to 10, while the sales expectations index over the next six months dropped three points to 24.