Mortgage rates on a 30-year fixed rate loan dropped to a new record low this week, according to mortgage giant, Freddie Mac.  Coming in at 4.56%, down from 4.57% last week, the rates have not been this low since the 1950’s.

Freddie Mac collects rates weekly Monday through Wednesday from lenders across the country and as rates are closely tied in with long-term treasury bonds, they are known to fluctuate significantly even on a given day.

Rates began to fall when the FED pumped 1.25 billion into mortgage backed securities, when the program expired in the spring; rates were expected to begin to rise again.  However, the European Debt Crisis forced investors to move their money into safer Treasury Bonds, which in turn has kept the yields down.