The Trump Administration is progressing with plans to offer 50-year mortgages to homebuyers—an initiative that has attracted criticism from some of the President’s own allies, and which experts caution could bring significant disadvantages.

President Donald Trump confirmed that his Administration would roll out 50-year mortgages in a Truth Social post over the weekend. Shortly thereafter, Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, stated on X: “Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage—a complete game changer.”

The introduction of a 50-year mortgage would signify a considerable extension to the most prevalent mortgage type in the U.S., a 30-year fixed mortgage, where the loan is amortized, or paid off, over three decades.

Numerous economists and lawmakers were quick to voice opposition to the concept. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green argued in a post on X that it would “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.”

The Trump Administration’s proposal also generated concern from housing experts, who assert that the benefits for home purchasers would be minimal. Here’s an overview of what a 50-year mortgage would imply for potential homeowners.

What are the advantages?

According to Alex Schwartz, an urban policy professor at The New School, monthly payments for a 50-year mortgage would be lower than those for a 30-year mortgage. 

For example, imagine an individual buying a $500,000 home with a 30-year mortgage. The current interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at approximately 6.22%, according to . If the home buyer made a 20% down payment, their monthly principal and interest payment would be $2,455, according to . However, if they opted for a 50-year mortgage, again with a 20% down payment, their monthly principal and interest payment—assuming the interest rate remains constant—would be $2,171, according to Fannie Mae. This amounts to slightly under $300 less than the monthly payment for a 30-year mortgage.

“It’s a reduction, but it’s not dramatic,” Schwartz says, regarding the difference in monthly payments between 30- and 50-year mortgages.

He further notes that the interest rate for a 50-year mortgage would likely not be the same as that for a 30-year mortgage, which could diminish the potential savings. A higher interest rate, he states, is merely one of several possible disadvantages of a 50-year mortgage.

What are the disadvantages?

A primary drawback of a 50-year mortgage is that it would extend the time it takes for home buyers to fully repay their debt.

“If you were 30 years old and bought a home with a 30-year mortgage, it would be owned free and clear at age 60, so you’d only have to pay property taxes and maintenance on the home, no longer having to pay a mortgage during your older years or retirement,” Schwartz explains. 

“If you were now paying a loan for a 50-year mortgage, and you’re 30, the mortgage wouldn’t end until you’re 80, and so you would have a period of time, most likely during retirement, where you have to pay the debt service costs on top of the property taxes and maintenance,” he continues.

The other concern, Schwartz says, is that homeowners would not accumulate equity as rapidly with a 50-year mortgage as they would with a 30-year mortgage. For the initial years of a mortgage, a homeowner primarily pays interest; it takes several years before they truly begin reducing their principal debt. Buyers with a 50-year mortgage would be paying down their debt considerably more slowly compared to a 30-year mortgage.

Should housing prices decline, Schwartz worries that individuals with a 50-year mortgage might then experience negative equity, meaning they would owe more on their mortgage than their home’s market value.

Schwartz also states that, in most cases, the interest rate for a 50-year mortgage would be higher than that of a 30-year mortgage. Currently, interest rates for 30-year mortgages are higher than those for 15-year mortgages.

“There are major trade-offs here,” Schwartz concludes. “Your monthly payment is somewhat reduced, [but] it will take a lot longer to build equity in your home, it would take longer to actually retire the mortgage so that when you’re older your housing affordability problems would be greater when you’re out of the workforce than they would be if you have a 30-year mortgage, and you are at greater risk of having negative equity.”

Could a 50-year mortgage address housing affordability?

According to Schwartz, not in any significant manner. For individuals who are “squeezed” by their current mortgage, if they chose to refinance for a 50-year mortgage, their monthly payments would become more manageable, Schwartz says. However, he warns that a longer-term mortgage would involve substantial risks.

“Is this going to make home ownership more accessible for first-time home buyers? I don’t think so,” he states.

Amid criticism regarding the proposal, Pulte acknowledged in a follow-up post on X on Sunday, “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!”

The President also responded to objections concerning the idea. In an interview with Fox News that aired on Monday, he asserted that a 50-year mortgage is “not even a big deal.”

“All it means is you pay less per month,” Trump said. “You pay it over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor. It might help a little bit.”