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In a bid to make homebuying more affordable for Americans, President Donald Trump has proposed the idea of a 50-year mortgage.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s idea faced mixed opinions, sparking a debate about the benefits and drawbacks of longer-term loans<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the Money newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Buying a home in the US is tougher than everCredit: Getty<\/p>\n President Trump seemingly proposed a new 50-year mortgage via his social media platform Truth SocialCredit: Truth Social\/realDonaldTrump<\/p>\n Buying a home<\/a> in the US is more difficult than ever\u00a0due to a combination of record-high prices<\/a>, spiked mortgage rates<\/a>, and a lack of housing<\/a> inventory.<\/p>\n The average age of first-time homebuyers<\/a> has increased sharply from previous years<\/a> to 40, with the\u00a0US housing market slowed\u00a0in 2025 \u2013 a situation that President Trump<\/a> is aiming to fix.<\/p>\n Trump\u00a0seemingly proposed mortgages with 50-year terms over the weekend in a Truth Social<\/a> post<\/a>, featuring an image of himself next to the 32nd US president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose administration created the 30-year mortgage standard during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n Trump wrote \u201c30-year mortgage\u201d above the former president\u2019s image and \u201c50-year mortgage\u201d above his own.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t DEBT HAUNTS<\/p>\n Homeowner hit with foreclosure threat after $121k in \u2018zombie debt\u2019 resurfaces<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t REAL RUIN<\/p>\n We thought building property portfolio would make us rich but now we’re broke<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency \u2013 the top mortgage regulation agency in the country \u2013 seemingly confirmed the plans in an X post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage \u2013 a complete game changer,\u201d wrote Pulte.<\/p>\n BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS<\/p>\n Currently, 50-year fixed-rate mortgages are not permitted under the Qualifying Mortgages rules spelled out in federal law, meaning that congressional<\/a> approval would be required to make these mortgages common and widely available.<\/p>\n However, should the 50-year home loan become a reality, it would come along with a range of pros and cons.<\/p>\n SMALLER MONTHLY PAYMENTS<\/p>\n The biggest benefit of a 50-year mortgage is that it would offer homebuyers smaller monthly payments<\/a> than the standard 30-year mortgage.<\/p>\n For example, if mortgage rates were 6.5%, a 50-year mortgage would cost $564 per $100,000 of mortgage versus $632 per $100,000 for a 30-year loan, Richard Green, a professor at the University of Southern California, calculated<\/a>\u00a0on LinkedIn. <\/p>\n This means that for a $500,000 mortgage, the monthly payment would be around $340 cheaper.<\/p>\n Supporters for Trump\u2019s proposed 50-year mortgage idea have argued that this would make purchasing a home more accessible, giving Americans more financing options and flexibility.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think a 50-year mortgage is bad. It gives everyone more flexibility financially. You can pay a mortgage off early. Not sure how else to lower home costs in 2025,\u201d wrote Crypto Wendy, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on X.<\/p>\n However, experts have warned that a boost in home demand without increasing the number of properties on the market could push home prices even higher, essentially undoing any potential savings on monthly payments.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tWhat help is out there for first-time buyers?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tGETTING on the property ladder can feel like a daunting task but there are schemes available to help first-time buyers. Below we round up top options:\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loans: The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) manages the FHA loans program<\/a>. This may be a good mortgage choice if you\u2019re a first-time buyer because the requirements are not as strict as for other loans.<\/p>\n Homeownership Vouchers: The scheme offers subsidies to use toward buying a home to low-income Americans who are first-time buyers. For more information, contact your local Public Housing Agency (PHA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Good Neighbor Next Door: Certain teachers, emergency workers and law enforcement officers can take advantage of the Good Neighbor Next Door program<\/a>. It offers 50% off select properties. In return, you must commit to live in the property for at least 36 months.<\/p>\n State programs: Plenty of states housing authorities offer help in the form of combined closing cost and down payment assistance programs with favourable mortgages rates. To find out what\u2019s available to first-time buyers in your area, get in touch with your state directly.<\/p>\n HIGHER INTEREST PAYMENTS<\/p>\n While a 50-year mortgage would result in lower monthly payments, the longer-term loan would also spike the total amount of interest that Americans pay because the lifetime of the loan is so much longer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer the life of the loan, the more compensation the lender will demand,\u201d said<\/a> Realtor.com senior economist\u00a0Joel Berner.<\/p>\n Longer loans generally have higher interest rates because they are riskier for lenders, exemplified in the difference between mortgage rates for a 15-year loan, at an average of 5.5% last week, versus a 30-year loan, at 6.22%, per Freddie Mac<\/a>.<\/p>\n Because there are currently no conventional mortgages that have a 50-year term, it is unclear just how much higher rates would be.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tChanges to homebuyer age and first-time property purchasers in the United States\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\tFirst-time buyers and lower-budget buyers are disproportionately affected by rocketing housing costs\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Spiraling housing costs have helped push the age of today\u2019s typical homebuyer higher.<\/p>\n Older buyers and repeat buyers are more likely to find success in the market.<\/p>\n In the US, the median homebuyer age reached 56 in 2024.<\/p>\n This is a record high.<\/p>\n In fact, it\u2019s the highest age in the data\u2019s history \u2013 dating back to 1981.<\/p>\n Source: Realtor.com<\/a><\/p>\n SLOWER EQUITY GAINS<\/p>\n Homeowners who opted for a 50-year mortgage would also gain equity in the home at a slower pace than if they went with the standard 30-year mortgage.<\/p>\n The longer the term of the loan, the longer it takes to build equity in the property because principal payments would be smaller, with experts suggesting that the amount of interest paid to lenders would be 40% higher.<\/p>\n \u201cThe slow equity build would make trading up or down very difficult,\u201d Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, told Realtor.com.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would also take almost 40 years to pay off half the balance, meaning most borrowers would not begin building meaningful equity until the final decade.\u201d<\/p>\n Extensive research<\/a>\u00a0from around the time of the 2008 financial crisis\u00a0has shown<\/a>\u00a0that Americans with a \u201cnegative equity\u201d \u2013 meaning that they owed more to a lender than their homes were worth \u2013 were at much greater risk of defaulting on their mortgage or walking away from it altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cNegative equity is a necessary condition for default. Otherwise, households would sell their houses, pay back their mortgages and keep any remaining funds,\u201d explained<\/a> the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t PAY UP<\/p>\n Will you qualify for Trump’s $2,000 stimulus check? Everything we know so far<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t LOOK BOTH WAYS<\/p>\n Most dangerous street revealed as US state ranked deadliest for pedestrians<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n As talk of a 50-year mortgage continues, some homeowners are paying off their mortgages early and buying stocks<\/a> after the Fed rate cut.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/newspress-collage-jt1cx5lhu-1762192663080.jpg\"\/)
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