Trump proposes 50-year mortgage plan as housing costs soar
The American Dream may have just gotten a five-decade payment plan.
President Donald Trump has suggested creating a new, 50-year mortgage plan as a way to encourage young people to buy real estate, according to a post on his Truth Social platform. The U.S. Director of Federal Housing Bill Pulte also replied on X, saying that the agency was working to institute the new housing proposition.
"Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage - a complete game changer," Pulte posted.
"We hear you. We are laser focused on ensuring the American Dream for YOUNG PEOPLE and that can only happen on the economic level of homebuying. A 50 Year Mortgage is simply a potential weapon in a WIDE arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now. STAY TUNED!" he added.
The purpose of a longer mortgage plan would be to lower the monthly payment and principal needed to buy a house, stretching the payments longer into the future for less each month, according to Fannie Mae's mortgage calculator.
A $300,000 home with a 5% interest rate and a 5% down payment would cost $2,254 per month with a 15-year fixed mortgage, $1,530 per month with a 30-year fixed mortgage and $1,294 per month with a 50-year fixed mortgage, according to Fannie Mae's mortgage calculator.
However, the Qualified Mortgage rule within the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Consumer Protection Act, passed to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis, currently does not allow the federal government to create a 40 or 50-year mortgage, so President Trump would have to find an innovative way to bring his mortgage plan to life.
“President Trump is always exploring new ways to improve housing affordability for everyday Americans. Any official policy changes will be announced by the White House,” a White House official told ABC News in a statement.
Some congressional Republicans are breaking party lines with Trump in response to his potential 50-year mortgage idea.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on social media that she believes the new mortgage plan would only put more people in debt, as they would actually pay more total for the duration of the mortgage.
"I don’t like 50 year mortgages as the solution to the housing affordability crisis. 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 life!" Rep. Greene wrote on X.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., also lambasted the idea.
"How is ‘here, enjoy this 50 year mortgage’ different from ‘you will own nothing and you will like it,'" Rep. Massie posted on X.
However, some in the real estate industry are praising Trump's idea. Real estate company Opendoor's CEO, Kaz Nejatian, said on X that the new policy would help many people if enacted.
"50 year mortgage is probably the most pro-homeowner government policy of the last two decades," Nejatian wrote on X.
The average age of a first-time home buyer was 28 in 1991, but has risen to 38 by 2024, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors.
Per to the latest data from the brokerage service Redfin, the median U.S. household is spending 39% of its income on mortgage repayments, as the income required to make median mortgage payments is significantly higher than median household earnings.
"Nationwide, the typical homebuyer needs to earn $112,131 per year to afford the median priced home—roughly $25,000 more than the typical household makes," their latest data reads.
The U.S. Federal Housing Agency did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.
