Copyright Newsweek
President Donald Trump’s idea of introducing a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage has been condemned as a “disgusting insult” by James Fishback, the CEO of American investment firm Azoria, who says the proposal will result in “economic genocide against the Gen Z generation.” Newsweek contacted Fishback for comment by email on Monday outside normal office hours. Why It Matters The U.S. is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis exasperated by stubbornly elevated borrowing costs, which shot up in 2022 following the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate-hiking campaign to combat the rise of inflation and has since remained between 6 percent and 7 percent. During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to bring down mortgage rates and improve affordability in the U.S. housing market—goals he is still far from achieving 10 months into his second term. As of the week ending November 6, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.22 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The median sale price of a typical U.S. home was $435,331 in September, according to Redfin—up 1.7 percent from a year earlier. In 2019, before the pandemic homebuying frenzy, the national median sale price was below $300,000. High homeownership costs are keeping millions of Americans off the property ladder, sparking larger societal repercussions—including falling birth rates. According to recent Redfin estimates, the median U.S. household spends about 39 percent of its monthly income on mortgage repayments, far above what is considered affordable. What To Know On November 6, Trump shared a graphic on Truth Social comparing President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s introduction of 30-year fixed-rate mortgage policies in the 1940s to his proposal for a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage. William Pulte, the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, reshared the graphic on X and confirmed that the Trump administration was considering a new mortgage policy. “Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage—a complete game changer,” he wrote. In a follow-up post, Pulte added that the Trump administration was also looking into offering “ways to give relief in the 5 year mortgage, the 10 year mortgage, and the 15 year mortgage.” The proposal immediately sparked criticism from many experts, including Fishback. On X, the Azoria CEO called the idea of introducing a 50-year mortgage “an absolute insult,” adding that it would be disastrous for younger generations. “If we want to get serious about housing affordability, the crisis staring down my generation, consider this: when my dad was growing up in the 1960s, half of 30-year-olds were married and owned their homes. Today, only 15 percent of 30-year-olds are married and own a home,” he wrote. “If you cannot own your home, you cannot get married. If you cannot get married, you cannot have kids. If you cannot have kids, then what is the point?” He described the proposal as a way of forcing Americans into a “kind of slavery.” In his post, Fishback suggested other measures to improve housing affordability. “If we want to get serious about housing affordability, why not ban Blackstone, one of the largest donors to both parties, from buying up entire neighborhoods and forcing us to rent from them? If we are serious about housing, why not remove the 55 million people here on immigration visas who occupy homes that could go to Americans who have worked, fought, and bled for this country?” he wrote on X. “I am sick and tired of the do-nothing Republicans and the know-nothing Democrats being in bed with Wall Street, forcing us to become debt slaves, forcing us to accept this unrestrained usury. We did not vote for the 50-year mortgage,” he added. “If this continues, the Republicans will lose the midterms, and they will deserve to.” Fishback, who has been critical of both the Republican and the Democratic parties, has floated the idea of joining the Republican primary for Florida’s next gubernatorial election as an “America First” candidate. What People Are Saying Azoria CEO James Fishback wrote on X: “The ‘50-year mortgage’ is a disgusting insult. We are Americans. We are not slaves. We are not slaves to the plantation owner. We are not slaves to China. And we are not slaves to Wall Street. This 50-year mortgage idea is a spit in the face. It is an insult. We did not vote for this. We did not vote to become debt slaves to private equity firms, the big banks, and Wall Street. “Right now, the median home in America costs $500,000. At the prevailing mortgage rate of 6 percent, you would have $580,000 of interest payments over 30 years. If we went with this ridiculous, inane idea of a 50-year mortgage, that would be $1.1 million of mortgage payments for a $500,000 home. You would end up paying $1.5 million for a $500,000 house.” Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wrote on X: “I don’t like 50-year mortgages as the solution to the housing affordability crisis. It will ultimately reward the banks, mortgage lenders and homebuilders while people pay far more in interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home. In debt forever, in debt for life!” Maggie Anders, who works for the conservative libertarian think tank the Foundation for Economic Education, wrote on X: “Young Americans don’t want to be debt slaves for the rest of their lives. We want cheaper houses, which can only be accomplished by increasing the supply through deregulation.” Graham Stephan, a real estate investor and financial commentator, wrote on X: “A 50-Year mortgage would allow you to buy approximately 10 percent more house (or save about 10 percent) at the expense of nearly DOUBLING your payment schedule. There’s no way that ends well. “A 50-year mortgage isn’t worth it and won’t add much benefit since your mortgage interest is front-loaded. Homeowners will have very little, if any, equity by the time they sell (homeowners keep their home an average of 11.8 years). It sounds good on paper, but financially, it makes very little sense.” Montana Representative Lukas Schubert, a Republican, wrote on X: “The best way to help young homebuyers is to deport all the 30 million illegals from this country, that will free up a lot of housing!” Matt Walsh, a conservative commentator, wrote on X: “This just means your house will be owned by the bank until you die, and after. We don’t need 50-year mortgages. Get the illegal immigrants out of our country. Give America back to Americans.” John Pompliano, an investor, wrote on X: “The 30-year mortgage is one of the best financial products available to Americans. 50 years is even better.” User @CryptoWendyO, a cryptocurrency analyst, wrote on X: “I don’t think a 50-year mortgage is bad. It gives everyone more flexibility financially. You can pay a mortgage off early. Not sure how else to lower home costs in 2025.” What Happens Next While the Trump administration has floated the idea of a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage, it has not provided any details about when such policy could be introduced.
