The unusually cold winter is freezing the housing market index.
The index, which measures home builder confidence of current and future single-family home sales, ticked upward only one point to 47.
"The March HMI mirrors last month's sentiment, as builders continued to be affected by poor weather and difficulties in finding lots and labor," said Kevin Kelly, the chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, which has been conducting the HMI monthly for 30 years.
The highest published HMI came at the tail-end of 1998. The HMI peaked at 78 before beginning the first of two dips, the second of which came during the recession and set the HMI below 10 in 2009.
A score less than 50 means a majority of home builders perceive market conditions to be fair or poor.
