Administration exploring an offering that would have enormous consequences for the housing and mortgage markets
President Trump said at the weekend that his administration was considering opening the door for mortgages with terms as long as 50 years, a move that could mark one of the biggest shakeups to the housing and mortgage markets seen for decades.
Trump’s Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Bill Pulte described the idea as a “complete game changer” for the market in an X post, and confirmed that the administration was working on introducing the longer-term products for homebuyers.
The proposal is aimed at tackling the affordability crisis facing many buyers, particularly those attempting to purchase for the first time, who’ve seen their buying power squeezed by climbing home prices and stubborn mortgage rates.
But reaction to the plan was mixed, including among some of Trump’s allies like Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“I don’t like 50 year mortgages as the solution to the housing affordability crisis,” Taylor Greene wrote in a lengthy Sunday X post. “It will ultimately reward the banks, mortgage lenders, and home builders while people pay far more interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home. In debt forever, in debt for life!”
I don’t like 50 year mortgages as the solution to the housing affordability crisis.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 8, 2025
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.
In debt forever, in debt for…
She said lawmakers should be focused on preventing companies and asset managers from purchasing single-family homes, which she argued was forcing homebuyers to compete with corporations “that turn thousands of homes into permanent rental homes.”
Still, Pulte said longer mortgage terms were just one of many options under consideration by the administration to ease affordability challenges.
“We are laser focused on ensuring the American Dream for YOUNG PEOPLE and that can only happen on the economic level of homebuying,” he wrote. “A 50 Year Mortgage is simply a potential weapon in a WIDE arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now. STAY TUNED!”
He also teased potential relief in five-year, 10-year, and 15-year mortgages and said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were considering how to offer assumable or portable mortgages “in a safe and sound manner.”
Would longer mortgage terms help solve the affordability crisis?
A 50-year mortgage would mean lower monthly payments for American homebuyers, allowing buyers to qualify for a larger loan amount or purchase a more expensive home than they could under a shorter-term mortgage.
It could also ease cashflow struggles for homeowners – but drawbacks include much higher total interest paid over the course of the loan, slower equity buildup, and potential for higher interest rates if lenders choose to compensate for increased risk and longer time horizon.
The proposal sparked a flurry of reaction from within the mortgage industry at the weekend. Mortgage expert Joe Defosset highlighted concerns about how a longer amortization would potentially hinder wealth creation arising from real estate appreciation but said there could be room for maneuver in the plan.
“What if the lower payment on the 50-year loan gets them into the home and then you plan a monthly payment with them that fits their true budget[?]” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Maybe they can pay it based on a 30-year amortization or even shorter? I still don’t LOVE it, but it is interesting to open the discussion.”
Rebecca Richardson, a prominent Charlotte-based mortgage broker, said the plan would lead to borrowers paying more over time rather than saving money. “If you borrowed $425,000 at 6.5% over 30 years, you’d pay $542,064 in interest,” she wrote. “Over 50 years, you’d pay $1,012,478.
“That’s an extra $470,414 just to lower your monthly payment by $290. You’re not saving money… you’re just dragging out the debt.”
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