U.S. consumers remain the least inclined to buy a house than they’ve been in nearly 14 years, according to the latest data from the Conference Board. But boy, do they want a new TV!

In the current cycle, home-buying intentions peaked in March 2004, when 4.2 percent of respondents to the Conference Board’s monthly consumer survey said they planned to purchase a house within six months. The all-time peak, 5.2 percent, was reached in March 1999 during the stock market’s dotcom heyday. The latest two readings — 2.5 percent in both December and January — were the lowest since June 1994, not a promising indicator for a recovery in the beleaguered U.S. housing market.

On the other hand, the picture couldn’t be brighter for TV sales. Plans to get a new TV are near a record high, with 9.7 percent of January’s survey respondents saying they’ll buy a set within the next six months. That is the highest since a 10.4 percent reading last June and is the third-highest in the past 21 years. In fact, the trend in TV-buying intentions, as measured by the 12-month moving average of affirmative responses, rose to the highest in January since the Conference Board began tracking the data in 1978.