In a boost for the hard-hit housing market, low mortgage rates fell still lower this week, and the number of pending home sales posted a rise for the month of July.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan is now 4.32 percent, the mortgage-buying firm Freddie Mac reported Thursday. That’s down from 4.36 percent last week, and it’s the lowest level ever in four decades of tracking.

Meanwhile, an index of pending home sales from the National Association of Realtors rose 5.2 percent, based on contracts signed in July. This index provides a forward-looking indicator of home sales set to close in August or September.

The rise in pending sales, although modest, is welcome news after recent reports of a plunge in home sales, following the end of a temporary tax credit for home buyers earlier this year.

But the pending transactions don’t show a return to a strong level of sales. The good news is simply that pending sales headed up instead of down. The index rose to 79.4 from a level of 75.5 in June, but it remains well below its level of 98.1 a year ago.

Full story is available on The Christian Science Monitor