Is a 50-year Mortgage a Good Idea?

Here’s what you need to know about 50-year mortgage loans.

On November 9, 2025, President Donald Trump proposed the introduction of a 50-year home mortgage loan.

Bill Pulte, the Federal Housing Financing Agency director, indicated that the agency would begin working on a 50-year mortgage, referring to the proposal as a "complete game changer."

The 50-year mortgage proposal is aimed at addressing the current home affordability crisis, with many Americans struggling to get a foothold on the property ladder thanks to high prices and mortgage rates that are persistently above 6.00% in the post-pandemic era.

However, while a 50-year home loan would indeed come with lower monthly mortgage payments, the payment would only be very slightly lower than current loan options. There would also be long-term financial consequences for homeowners who choose a loan with such a long repayment timeline.

Here’s what you need to know about 50-year mortgage loans, along with some details on alternative options to purchase an affordable home without committing to so many decades in debt.

How would a 50-year mortgage work?

When borrowers take out a mortgage loan, the monthly payments are calculated based on the amount of principal and interest the borrower must pay each month to be debt-free by the end of the loan term. If the borrower makes less than a 20% down payment, they usually also must pay for mortgage insurance to protect lenders in case of foreclosure, as there may not be enough equity to ensure the home can be sold for enough to repay the loan.

The most common mortgage loans under the current system have 15-year or 30-year terms. A 50-year term would add between 20 and 35 years to the total repayment period. As a result, a 50-year mortgage loan would have a lower monthly payment than either of those loan options. Borrowers would pay less each month but make more payments over time.

Because borrowers would be in debt for longer with a 50-year mortgage, they would pay interest for a longer period of time. This makes a 50-year mortgage more expensive than a loan with a shorter payoff timeline.

Interest rates on mortgage loans are also typically higher for loans with longer repayment terms. For example, the rate on a 30-year mortgage is consistently above the rate on a 15-year loan. That’s because a longer loan repayment term is riskier for lenders. Lenders take more risk because:

• Rates could go up substantially over 50 years, while borrowers would remain locked in at today’s rates.
• There’s more time for borrowers to default over 50 years.

The higher rate combined with the longer payoff time means a 50-year home loan would be cheaper each month, but more expensive over time.

Borrowers will be slower to acquire equity on a 50-year loan, so on loans with smaller down payments, lenders face more risk of the balance being too large to be repaid from sale proceeds in case of foreclosure. As a result, mortgage insurance may cost more, and borrowers may have to pay it for longer until they acquire enough equity to have it removed. This adds more costs.

Borrowers could, of course, pay the loan off early if lenders didn’t charge prepayment penalties, but many borrowers don’t typically make extra mortgage payments, making this an unlikely outcome.

How much would a 50-year mortgage cost?

The costs of a 50-year mortgage would be based on the amount borrowed, as well as the interest rate charged on the 50-year home loan.

The table below shows what a potential 50-year mortgage could cost compared with a 15-year and 30-year mortgage loan, based on borrowing $400,000. It assumes a 20% down payment, which means borrowers would not have to pay for mortgage insurance.

Interest rates for the 15-year and 30-year loans are based on Freddie Mac’s data on average rates from November 13, 2025. The table assumes the gap between the interest rate on the 50-year loan is the same as the gap between average rates on a 15-year and 30-year mortgage.

As you can see in the example, the difference in the monthly payment of a 50-year loan versus a 30-year loan could be $56 per month, while the total interest costs would more than double. Since mortgage insurance is paid monthly, the added cost would offset even more of the (small) savings resulting from the longer loan term, and would increase costs even further.

Even if you assume the same 6.24% interest rate on a 30-year versus a 50-year loan, the monthly payments would be $2,177 per month on the 50-year loan, or just $283 lower, while the total interest costs would still be $906,144 over time . That’s over $420,000 more paid in your lifetime than you’d pay if you bought your house using a standard 30-year loan.

For many people, the savings would not be worth it – especially given that you’d likely be carrying a mortgage into retirement if you took the full time to repay your loan and did not refinance to a loan with a shorter term or make extra payments.

Pros of a 50-year home loan

While a 50-year loan undoubtedly costs much more than the current mortgages available today, there are still some benefits to the 50-year home loan plan . Specifically, here are the pros of taking on such a long-term mortgage loan:

• Lower monthly payments: With many Americans unable to afford to buy a property, reducing the monthly payment could make homeownership affordable for some who might not otherwise be able to buy.
• You can get a foothold in the real estate market: If buying a home with a 50-year loan makes it possible to purchase when you otherwise couldn’t, more people can get onto the property ladder and begin building equity.
• Refinancing is possible later: A 50-year loan that makes homeownership affordable could be a temporary solution while borrowers wait for mortgage rates to fall or for their income to improve over time.
• You can begin building equity: Although borrowers will be paying interest for 50 years with this loan type, a portion of this money goes towards equity, so borrowers begin building an ownership stake. By contrast, rent payments continue indefinitely for life, and renters never end up owning a property.

Ultimately, owning a home has financial benefits, and if a 50-year mortgage is the only viable path towards homeownership, it can be better than the alternative of continuing to rent indefinitely – especially if the plan is to pay off the loan faster when funds are available to do so or if the plan is to refinance when a more standard loan becomes available and affordable.

Cons of a 50-year home loan

There are also some significant disadvantages associated with a 50-year home mortgage loan that must be considered before choosing this home loan option.

Some of the biggest disadvantages of a 50-year home loan include:

• Higher interest costs: You will pay significantly more interest over time with a 50-year loan, both because of the long repayment timeline and the likely higher monthly interest rate. This will ultimately make homeownership more expensive.
• Longer repayment period: Paying a home loan for 50 years can substantially interfere with other financial goals. You’ll likely end up carrying your loan with you into retirement, which can affect the savings you need to leave work. You may also be more likely to pass away while still carrying mortgage debt, impacting your legacy.
• Monthly payment savings may be minimal: The savings from a 50-year loan may be very small, especially if the interest rate is significantly higher than on a 30-year loan (a likely outcome given the risk lenders take on with such a long repayment timeline) or if mortgage insurance premiums are higher.
• Home affordability issues: Buyers who struggle to afford a 30-year loan may sign up for a 50-year loan that is just within their budget. This could leave these borrowers house poor and at higher risk of foreclosure or other financial issues.
• Equity building will be very slow: UBS, a wealth management firm, warns that just 4% of the mortgage balance would be repaid in 10 years under a 50-year loan, and only 11% would be retired after 20 years. By comparison, 46% of a 30-year mortgage balance has been repaid by year 20. When borrowers are slow to build equity, this increases the risk of the homeowner ending up owing more than the home is worth. This can affect their ability to sell or refinance and mean they must pay for mortgage insurance for longer.

For many people, the cons outweigh the pros, especially as there are other alternatives to a 50-year loan.

Would a 50-year mortgage loan really make homeownership more affordable?

While a 50-year home loan may result in slightly lower monthly payments, the change in payments is likely to be inconsequential for most people, given the higher interest rates these loans will likely carry.

Further, would-be borrowers don’t just struggle with monthly payments. Many people could afford payments on a mortgage loan but face challenges in saving up enough to make the required minimum down payments, especially in expensive markets.

In some markets, the cost of homeownership also exceeds the cost of renting a comparable property. This means that buying may not make financial sense.

A mortgage loan with a longer repayment term is not going to effectively resolve these issues, which are the result of larger structural problems within the real estate market that have resulted in a shortage of affordable homes for sale in many markets.

Alternatives to a 50-year mortgage

While a 50-year mortgage may seem like a solution, borrowers should explore alternatives, including:

• Adjustable rate mortgages: Like 50-year mortgages, ARMs also offer lower monthly payments, in this case because the interest rate is typically lower on an ARM than a fixed-rate loan. A 30-year ARM could provide a similar level of monthly savings to a 50-year loan without committing to an extra 20 years of repayment. However, the risk of an ARM is that rates and payments could increase over time.
• First-time buyer assistance programs: There are a variety of programs available to help first-time buyers at the state and local levels. These programs may be better suited to address obstacles preventing people from buying, such as challenges in saving up down payment funds.
• Waiting to buy: Mortgage rates have been declining, and if the trend continues, purchasing a home with a traditional mortgage could become more affordable.
• Purchasing a smaller property: Borrowers willing to accept a smaller and cheaper starter home may be able to afford a property with a conventional 30-year loan. They can begin building equity to move up the property ladder without committing to a 50-year mortgage that is likely to be at a higher rate.

Those who are interested in buying should reach out to Freedom Mortgage to explore loan options and find out if there are affordable borrowing solutions today that don’t require a commitment to paying off a loan for 50 years in the future.