Newly built, single-family home sales last month fell to a seasonally adjusted 309,000, the U.S. Commerce Department reported.

Newly built, single-family home sales last month fell to a seasonally adjusted 309,000, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. The number is a record low.

However, after being battered by months of poor home sales, the National Association of Home Builders saw some optimism in the figures.

“As disturbing as this report sounds, there is reason to believe that some potential home buyers may have purposely delayed action in January as they waited to see how details of the President's economic stimulus plan could affect a home purchase,” said Joe Robson, NAHB chairman and a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. "Now that those details are known - particularly those relating to the new first-time home buyer tax credit and higher loan limits for government-backed mortgages - we are hopeful that many buyers will be looking to take advantage of them in the coming months.”

The conditions responsible for the sagging home sales are expected to remain, said NAHB chief economist David Crowe.

“Clearly, the downward pressures that have been exerting themselves on the housing market remain in place, including the weakened economy, ongoing job losses and very low consumer confidence,” Crowe said. “But as more home buyers find out about the newly enhanced tax credit, and other parts of the economic stimulus package start kicking in, we expect to see some firming effect on home sales. The hope is that a certain amount of pent-up demand will be released as those who were in a ‘wait-and-see’ mode decide they now have the information they need to proceed.”