A way to address housing affordability in the U.S. that may involve lengthening mortgage payment terms was hinted at by President Donald Trump over the weekend.

In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump shared an image of his face beside President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served as president from 1933 to 1945 and oversaw the initial rollout of the 30-year mortgage through the National Housing Act of 1934.

Above Roosevelt’s head in the image Trump shared, a caption read, “30-Year Mortgage.” Above Trump’s head it read, “50-Year Mortgage.”

Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that regulates government-sponsored mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, confirmed that his agency is working on a framework to bring 50-year mortgages to market in some capacity.

“Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage – a complete game changer,” he posted on X on Saturday, sharing the Truth Social graphic.

In a subsequent post on Sunday, Pulte called the 50-year mortgage “simply a potential weapon in a WIDE arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now,” without detailing other solutions in development.

Historical context

When introduced through the National Housing Act of 1934, the 30-year mortgage represented a departure from the all-private pre-Great Depression market dominated by five-year, interest-only loans that culminated in large balloon payments.

The 30-year mortgage expanded to new homes in 1949 and to existing homes in 1954. In recent years, 40-year amortization schedules have featured in loss mitigation strategies to modify monthly payments lower for borrowers having trouble making payments.

To create a lower monthly payment, a 50-year mortgage would extend the loan term, slowing the pace of principal repayment and increasing the amount of interest paid over the life of the loan up to 40%, according to an analysis by CNBC.

That 40% could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional interest paid, while potentially reducing mortgaged homeowners’ financial flexibility in times of payment stress.

The mortgage rate on a 50-year mortgage would likely be higher than that of a 30-year loan because investors in mortgage bonds would demand higher premiums for tying up capital for longer and to hedge against a half-century of refinance-driven prepayment risk.

Meanwhile, home sellers with 50-year mortgages would carry larger outstanding balances to repay with sales proceeds. Slower equity accrual means 50-year borrowers would likely be at greater risk of being underwater on their mortgages if home prices fall.

50-year mortgage reactions

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Consumer Protection Act, passed in 2010 in response to the 2008 financial crisis, currently only allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase mortgages amortized over 30 years or fewer, pointing to regulatory hurdles and the lack of secondary market for 50-year mortgage loans.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) expressed concerns about the 50-year mortgage term in a statement provided to Scotsman Guide.

“Our concern is that any affordability benefit derived from expanding the mortgage term to 50 years would be offset by increased borrower risk and slower borrower equity growth resulting from the extended amortization period, especially given the expected slowing of home price growth,” an MBA spokesman wrote.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia’s 14th congressional district, opposed the 50-year mortgage as a strategy for addressing the affordable housing crisis in a post on X.

She wrote that it will “ultimately reward” banks, mortgage lenders and home builders, “while people pay far more in interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home.”

The rising homeownership costs worsening affordability are also not limited to higher principal and interest payments. Property insurance costs and property taxes have risen significantly since 2020, disrupting the predictability of fixed loan terms.

Overall, affordability barriers have limited access to the housing market for first-time homebuyers. The median age of first-time homebuyers rose from 38 to 40 from July 2024 to June 2025, according to recent research from the National Association of Realtors.

Over that period, first-time homebuyer purchase share fell to a historic low of 21% from 24% the year prior and 40% pre-2008. A lack of affordable housing supply was cited by the association as a driving cause of the affordability crunch, but the 50-year mortgage would largely be a demand-side adjustment.

Stephen Moore, who served as a senior economic adviser during the first Trump administration, told Fox News on Sunday that the 50-year mortgage schedule might make sense for some people who are “really struggling to find a home where they can meet those mortgage payments.”

But he cautioned that while the longer amortization schedule would reduce monthly mortgage payments, “you’re going to pay for a long, long time.”

“You’re going to be paying that mortgage payment for most of your life,” Moore said.