A proposal for a 50-year mortgage wasn’t fully vetted by top Trump administration officials and wasn’t ready to be made public, sources told CBS News.
Over the weekend, top federal housing official Bill Pulte floated the idea with President Trump, who then approved a Truth Social post.
Some Trump officials this week vented their frustration with Pulte over the move. One source said Mr. Trump was lukewarm about the suggestion but announced it “to get Pulte to shut up about it.”
Another source disputed the characterization of the president as tepid about the mortgage proposal, however, and said 40-year and 50-year mortgages had been discussed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett and others in the administration.
Three sources said the Trump administration has been working on other ideas to promote affordability for Americans, including strategies to alleviate the housing crunch.
The internal discussions on the longer-term loans were casual, and no final decisions had been made, the sources said.
The 50-year mortgage idea came about when Pulte spoke to the president at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, two of the sources said. Politico reported earlier that White House officials were upset with Pulte, the head of the independent Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, which are tasked with providing liquidity to member institutions for home financing and community investment.
After Pulte presented the suggestion, a sign was posted to Mr. Trump’s Truth account with a banner at the top reading “Great American Presidents” over the portraits of two presidents side by side, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Trump himself. The words “30-year mortgage” appear over Roosevelt, while “50-year mortgage” appears over Trump.
Mr. Trump approved the Truth Social post, and it went up at 1:10 p.m. Saturday. About half an hour later, Pulte shared Mr. Trump’s post on X and added that “we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage — a complete game changer.” He also called it a “potential weapon in a WIDE arsenal of solutions that we are developing right now.”
No other details about the proposal have been released.
Pulte didn’t immediately comment.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the president is committed to making home ownership easier by eliminating unnecessary red tape, increasing supply, and lowering costs. “The White House and the entire Trump administration are appreciative of Mr. Pulte’s efforts, and everyone is working together to implement the President’s policies,” Ingle said.
The president defended the 50-year mortgage idea in an interview Monday night with Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”
“All it means is you pay less per month.You pay it over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor,” Mr. Trump said. “It might help a little bit.”
Analysts are still examining whether a 50-year mortgage would make homes more affordable for Americans. Some point out that while borrowers might pay a little less in monthly principal and interest – because the loan’s duration is 20 years longer – the total cost for them would be much higher.
“The total interest paid over the life of the loan would be staggering, since even with a low rate, you’re looking at 50 years’ worth of interest,” NerdWallet lending expert Kate Wood told CBS News earlier this week in an email.
At this point, typical homeowners spend 39% of their income on housing, well above the 30% affordability threshold recommended by financial experts, according to Redfin. Mortgage rates have eased this year but are still above 6%, about twice the pandemic-era lows. Home prices averaged $410,800 in the second quarter, about 25% higher than in early 2020, according to Federal Reserve data.
