President Donald Trump has floated allowing 50-year mortgages—framed as a voluntary, pro-choice tool to ease monthly payments in a high-price, high-rate market—while FHFA Director Bill Pulte (a homebuilding scion now overseeing Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) says the agency is exploring the option alongside assumable/portable loans to free up locked-in sellers. In a Fox interview Trump called it “no big deal,” noting the goal is lower payments; independent estimates show savings of roughly $100–$150 per month on a typical loan but with far higher lifetime interest—often close to double—because of slower amortization.
Importantly, this is not a finalized program: reporting indicates the idea was aired before full internal vetting, details are sparse, and any broad rollout would require changes to current rules (e.g., Qualified Mortgage standards cap standard terms at 30 years and the GSEs would need authority to buy/securitize such loans). Supporters argue it expands homeownership by giving families another option now—rather than waiting for lower rates—while critics on the right and left counter that stretching terms doesn’t add supply, risks pushing prices higher, and delays equity-building and payoff into retirement.
The U.S. already permits 40-year terms for certain loan modifications (to avoid foreclosure), but not as a mainstream purchase product, so a 50-year purchase loan would be a significant departure. Related ideas circulating include assumable or portable mortgages to unlock inventory; claims of a new five-year tax break specifically for first-time buyers are not part of the 50-year proposal and remain separate, tentative tax-bill concepts on Capitol Hill. Bottom line, the 50-year mortgage is being considered, not launched; it could lower payments modestly but at the cost of much higher total interest and slower wealth-building unless paired with serious supply-side reforms.
