WASHINGTON-- The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) dropped back two points to 58 in February.

The fall followed a cumulative rise of 13 points in November, December and January.

"Home builders still have a very positive outlook on the market for new single-family homes, thanks to continuing low interest rates, improving consumer confidence and other solid market fundamentals," said Gary Garczynski, the newly elected NAHB president.

In February's HMI, the current sales of single-family homes declined three points to 61. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers fell four points to 46. The index gauging sales expectations for the next six months remained unchanged at 66.