Introducing the 50-Year Mortgage — What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The government is trying to roll out a new “solution” to the housing crisis and just like everything the government does, it’s perfectly logical and definitely won’t make the problem worse.
Verify your mortgage eligibility (Nov 22nd, 2025)They’re calling it the 50-year mortgage. That’s about how long a tortoise lives… and probably how long it’ll take to build equity in the house you’re buying.
So what’s the idea behind it?
Simply put, the plan is to help more people qualify for a mortgage. By stretching payments over 50 years, monthly payments drop which improves debt-to-income ratios and, in theory, makes homeownership more “affordable.”
The problem? The last thing the housing market needs right now is more buyers if the goal is to make homes more affordable. Economics 101: more demand = higher prices.
Verify your mortgage eligibility (Nov 22nd, 2025)And here’s what most people miss — the interest rate on a 50-year mortgage would almost certainly be higher than a 30-year.
For context, 15-year loans usually price about 0.75% lower than a 30-year. So let’s be generous and assume a 50-year term is only about 0.5% higher.
📊 Example:
- 30-year loan, $400K at 6% → $2,398/month payment
- 50-year loan, $400K at 6.5% → $2,255/month payment
That’s a savings of about $145 per month.
Verify your mortgage eligibility (Nov 22nd, 2025)As a rule of thumb, every $10K borrowed adds roughly $65/month to your payment. So that extra savings only boosts buying power by around $20K and most of that would get wiped out once prices rise from increased demand.
While I appreciate the attempt to tackle affordability, this ain’t it. It’s also important to note that this is just a proposal and it has not been implemented yet, it’s still just a proposal.
It’s much harder (and less headline-worthy) to fix the real issue: we just don’t have enough homes. And that’s a problem that’ll take years, not new loan terms, to solve.
Recap
- Government floating the idea of a 50-year mortgage
- Would slightly lower payments, but rates likely higher
- Adds more buyers, which could push prices up
- Only boosts buying power by roughly $20K on average
- Still doesn’t fix the real issue — lack of supply