The Downsides of Getting a 50-Year Mortgage

By Jason Penrose

Jason has been licensed since 1999, and is currently one of the top 20 agents in Arizona for homes sold.

A new idea has been making headlines, and many wonder if it could ease the pressure: 50-year mortgages. The concept sounds simple. Stretch the loan over five decades, lower the payment, and make buying a home easier. But does this really solve the problem, or does it create new ones?

Let’s look at how the proposal surfaced and what impact it could have on buyers, homeowners, and the market.

Proposal to expand mortgage terms to 50 years. In a recent interview, President Donald Trump suggested 50-year mortgages to boost housing affordability. The idea is straightforward. If buyers have more time to pay off the loan, their monthly payment drops. That makes it easier to qualify, and on the surface, it sounds like relief for anyone struggling to keep up with today’s high rates and high prices.

But stretching a mortgage that long changes more than just the payment. It influences prices, equity, lending behavior, and how people view homeownership itself.

Lower payments can raise home prices. A longer loan reduces the monthly fee and increases what buyers can afford on paper. When more people can suddenly afford to buy houses, demand rises. When demand increases, prices often follow.

So while a 50-year mortgage may make the payment feel lighter, the overall cost of buying a home can climb. Homes become easier to buy each month, but harder to afford in the big picture.

It could change how people build wealth. For decades, the 30-year mortgage helped homeowners build wealth by steadily paying down principal. A 50-year mortgage slows that process dramatically.

With so much time added to the loan, equity builds much more slowly. Instead of gaining ownership at a reasonable pace, buyers could spend years making payments with little to show for it. Homeownership starts to look less like a path to wealth and more like a long-term rental with a title.

Longer terms can invite risky lending behavior. After the 2008 housing crash, one lesson stood out. When loan structures appear to offer easier access, some buyers take on more than they can handle. A 50-year mortgage could create a similar false sense of affordability.

Buyers may feel safer because the payment is smaller, even if they are financially stretched. If interest rates rise or home values fall, these homeowners could end up underwater with almost no equity to protect them.

It’s not just about affordability; it’s about market timing. The idea of a 50-year mortgage is gaining attention amid high rates and tight affordability. But extending the loan term does not address the deeper issues. Housing supply is limited, and wages have not kept pace with rising prices. Longer mortgages might soften the payment, but they cannot fix the root causes. It treats the symptom, not the problem.

Thinking of buying or refinancing in 2026? Before jumping on the 50-year mortgage bandwagon, let’s have a conversation. Reach out to me anytime at (602) 738-9943 or email jason@thepenroseteam.com. I’ll help you understand what loan terms make the most sense for your goals and whether this long-term strategy will truly benefit you or just add decades of debt.