The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo sentiment index found that confidence among home builders in January remained unchanged from previous low levels, according to Bloomberg.

The index registered a reading of 16, the same as the previous two months. Readings below 50 mean more respondents said conditions were poor.

“Housing remains very weak,” said Paul Dales, an economist with Capital Economics Ltd. in Toronto, in an interview with Bloomberg. “There’s still excess supply, and demand is weak, and that’s going to be the case for a while. It’s no surprise builders aren’t doing a lot of building and their confidence is low.”

The index was first published in January 1985, and reached a record low of 8 in January 2009. It averaged 54 in the five years before the recession began in December 2007.

The index breaks out four regions. Builders in the Northeast and South regions saw a drop in confidence. The Midwest gauge rose to 14 from 13, and confidence rose from 11 to 15 in the West.

David Crowe, chief economist at the NAHB, said in a statement that problems obtaining financing for production and maintaining lines of credit threaten to slow housing recovery.