- Fifty-year mortgages may lower monthly payments but increase total interest costs significantly.
- Current market conditions make loans over 50 years unlikely with low interest rates.
- Policy support required for broader adoption of 50-year loans amid mixed industry reactions.
President Donald Trump earlier this week floated a 50-year mortgage as an affordability fix during a struggling economy. The idea drew cheers from some who want lower monthly payments — and warnings from others who see slower equity and bigger lifetime costs.
The idea was initially posted to the president’s Truth Social and quickly shared to X by Director of Federal Housing Bill Pulte, who claimed that it would be “a complete game changer.”
Utah voices react
Zions Bank CRA mortgage lender Carlos Sanchez told the Deseret News the math can surprise first-time buyers. “If you buy a $400,000 home … you’re gonna see like $800,000 in just interest,” he said of very long loans. He called 50 years a “simple quick fix for now” and urged careful counseling so borrowers “understand everything” before choosing a term.
Sanchez said the key question is whether a few hundred dollars less each month is “worth it” if it means “20 more years of interest.” He added that a 50-year loan at “2% or 3% … is not going to happen,” and it’s not likely to “see the (rates) going down below 5½.”
Heidi Dillier, a Zions Bank mortgage loan officer, said in an interview that “every mortgage gets refinanced” and that “nobody keeps their loan for 30 years,” especially in a high-rate cycle. She called a 50-year plan “the wrong way to do it,” arguing “they need to lower the rates” instead.
Dillier also pointed to other existing paths into ownership. She said Utah buyers can still find “a lot of options,” including co-buying where roommates’ rent can help with qualifying income. With Utah’s in-migration and strong economy, she said, “you’re always just going to gain equity here,” while planning to refinance when rates fall.
Barrett Slade, the James M. Passey Professor of Finance at BYU, told the Deseret News the 50-year term might help “a small minority” qualify, but he believes “the effort is misplaced” for affordability. He tied today’s “big killer” — mortgage rates — to tariff-driven volatility and expected inflation. His advice to young households: “rent a little longer and then qualify for a 30-year.”
Slade noted today’s first-time buyers are “close to 40 years old.” On a 50-year mortgage, many would be “90 before they have a paid-off home.” For retirees, he said, a paid-off house or deep equity often “saves” the budget. If the real point is to bridge to a future refinance, he said, interest-only products already exist for specific cases.
Not all young Utahns are completely opposed. Savanah Romney, a young adult real estate agent currently house-hunting herself, said it “depends on your financial situation.” She thinks a 50-year term could “help young buyers get into a home faster and make ownership more affordable.” She acknowledged higher lifetime interest but emphasized “start building equity as soon as it makes sense,” with the option to refinance later.
National voices give perspective
National outlets have sketched the stakes in dollars. Realtor.com reported that on a $400,000 home with 10% down at a hypothetical 6.25% rate, a 50-year loan might cut the monthly principal-and-interest payment by about $250 versus a 30-year — but total interest would jump to $816,396 on the 50-year versus $438,156 on the 30-year, roughly 86% more over the life of the loan.
Realtor.com also noted today’s federal Qualified Mortgage rule doesn’t allow 50-year fixed-rate loans, meaning Congress would have to act for wide availability.
A Mortgage Bankers Association spokesman told Realtor.com investor appetite could be limited, which would push rates on 50-year loans higher than 30-year — further shrinking any monthly savings.
The Wall Street Journal reported the longer term could trim “a couple hundred dollars” a month but would be “costlier in other ways,” and that lenders and investors would all need to sign on before such loans exist at scale.
Policy dynamics remain fluid. Politico reported White House aides were “furious” with how the idea was given to the president by Pulte. The idea quickly faced backlash from conservative allies and industry voices. Trump later told Laura Ingraham on Fox the concept “might help a little bit,” while Pulte went to X to cast a 50-year term as one tool in a “wide arsenal.”
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!
— Pulte (@pulte) November 9, 2025
The bottom line from Utah voices
Experts claim that affordability won’t be solved by stretching timelines alone. As Slade put it, rates and inflation are “the big killer.” As Dillier argued, more effective relief comes when rates ease and buyers use the tools that already exist. And as Sanchez said, the best loan is the one that is fully understood — including how one can get out of it when life changes.