(NewsNation) — The Trump administration says it’s working on a plan that could make 50-year mortgages a reality, a move aimed at helping younger Americans buy homes.
“A 50 Year Mortgage is simply a potential weapon in a WIDE arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now,” Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte wrote on X over the weekend, calling the idea a “complete game changer.”
Pulte’s statement came after President Donald Trump floated the idea on Truth Social, posting an image touting himself as the creator of the 50-year mortgage.
Details remain sparse, but a longer-term loan option would likely mean lower monthly payments for homeowners — easing one of several affordability barriers that have pushed the typical age of first-time buyers to a record high.
However, a mortgage that stretches two decades beyond today’s 30-year norm would also come with major drawbacks, including significantly higher total interest costs and a slower path to building home equity.
And if demand rises without a comparable increase in housing supply, prices could climb even further, erasing much of the intended benefit.
“It’s not going to solve the primary issue in the housing market,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “It could create some unintended consequences for some people and may be a benefit to others.”
NewsNation reached out to the FHFA — which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — for more details about the idea but did not receive a response.
Would it lower monthly payments?
Extending the length of a mortgage is meant to ease monthly payments and broaden access to homeownership. In theory, those savings could amount to a few hundred dollars each month, but that’s not guaranteed.
Because longer loans expose lenders to greater risk, they generally come with higher interest rates. That’s why 15-year mortgages are currently at 5.5%, compared with roughly 6.2% for 30-year loans.
If rates were the same on a 30-year and 50-year mortgage, a typical homebuyer putting 20% down could pay about $250 less each month with the longer loan — but would pay far more in total interest over time.
If 50-year rates were higher by a similar margin to the gap between 15- and 30-year loans, the monthly savings would shrink to around $60.
“A savings of $150 to $200 isn’t really fixing the problem,” Dan Frio, a mortgage adviser and host of “The Rate Update,” told NewsNation on Monday.
Monthly payment at today’s median existing home price of $415,200, assuming 20% down at current interest rates, according to Fannie Mae’s mortgage calculator. Calculation doesn’t include taxes and insurance.
- 15-year fixed mortgage (at 5.5%): $2,714 per month (principal and interest)
- 30-year fixed mortgage (at 6.2%): $2,034 per month (principal and interest)
- *50-year fixed mortgage (at 6.2%): $1,798 per month (principal and interest)
- *50-year fixed mortgage (at 6.9%): $1,973 per month (principal and interest)
How much more interest would you be paying?
While a longer loan term would likely reduce monthly payments, stretching those payments over an extra two decades would mean paying significantly more in total interest — potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars extra.
“The total interest paid over the life of the loan would be staggering, since even with a low rate, you’re looking at 50 years’ worth of interest,” NerdWallet lending expert Kate Wood said in a statement.
Example: $350,000 loan at 6.2%:
- 30-Year Mortgage: monthly payment (principal + interest) of about $2,144, with roughly $422,000 in total interest
- 50-year mortgage: monthly payment (principal + interest) of about $1,894, with roughly $787,000 in total interest
Wood pointed out that paying down the loan over so much time could also mean building equity at an “incredibly slow pace.”
That isn’t ideal for several reasons. It means homeowners own less of their property for longer, reducing wealth gains and limiting flexibility to move or refinance. It also adds risk during downturns, making owners more likely to fall underwater if home values dip.
Would you ever own your home in your lifetime?
With the typical first-time homebuyer now 40, a 50-year mortgage would mean paying it off just in time for their 90th birthday — about 12 years older than the current U.S. life expectancy.
For that group, a 50-year mortgage doesn’t make much sense. But for younger buyers in their early 20s, the upside could be greater.
“They might see it as a way for them to get in before home prices go up later on in their lives,” Fairweather said.
And just because someone starts with a 50-year mortgage doesn’t mean they have to stay with it, she pointed out, adding that they could eventually refinance down to a 30-year loan.
Would a 50-year mortgage impact home prices?
A 50-year mortgage could boost demand, but if housing supply doesn’t rise to match, any monthly savings could be wiped out by rising home prices.
“This is not the best way to solve housing affordability,” Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement.
Berner said the administration would be better off reversing “tariff-induced inflation,” which has kept mortgage rates elevated. He also emphasized the need to expand the housing supply by promoting homebuilding.
A recent Zillow estimate put the nation’s housing shortage at more than 4.7 million units as of 2023.
Even members of Trump’s party have voiced skepticism at the prospect of a 50-year mortgage.
“It will ultimately reward the banks, mortgage lenders and home builders, while people pay far more in interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wrote on X. “In debt forever, in debt for life!”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said the idea “seems like a recipe for default” in a social media post.
Administration officials are only exploring the idea for now, and it’s not clear that a 50-year mortgage would be a qualified mortgage product or even be feasible, Fairweather noted.
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