Could a 50-year mortgage become a reality?
President Donald Trump has suggested the idea in a post on Truth Social that places a photo of himself beside former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with the labels “50-Year Mortgage” and “30-Year Mortgage” over their pictures.
Roosevelt is widely credited with reshaping the U.S. mortgage market during the Great Depression. His administration created the Federal Housing Administration in the 1930s, which insured long-term home loans and helped popularize what later became the standard 30-year mortgage. Before those reforms, most mortgages were due to be fully paid in just a few years.
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Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said on X that work is underway to make 50-year mortgages more widely available, calling the concept a “game changer.”
Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage - a complete game changer. https://t.co/HZDPzO0qJG
— Pulte (@pulte) November 8, 2025
Whether such a loan would help the current housing crisis is heavily debated. Supporters say a longer mortgage term would lower monthly payments and help more people buy homes. Critics counter that borrowers would pay far more interest over time and build equity more slowly, because early payments would primarily go toward interest.
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Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, told Realtor.com that extending mortgages to 50 years would not solve affordability issues, saying the real problem is the lack of homes in low- and mid-price ranges.
There is also concern that allowing more buyers into the market without increasing the supply of homes could drive prices even higher, fueling competition and bidding wars.
The median price for an existing single-family home is currently $426,800, up 1.7% from a year ago.
