As a Party, how do we distance ourselves from 50 year mortgages under Trump while we embraced 40 year loans under Obama? [View all]

Last edited Wed Nov 12, 2025, 12:19 AM - Edit history (3)

The question of home affordability has been an off again on again theme for all of the 21st century. During the Great Recession, millions of American homeowners were in need of affordable home loan options. To meet that need, the Obama administration created the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Under HAMP, mortgage servicers extended home loans with terms up to 40 years. The program was an essential lifeline for millions of American families who could not afford the higher monthly payments required under 15 or 30 year mortgages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_Home_Affordable

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-latest-data-on-the-home-affordable-modification-program/

Now, 15 years post Great Recession nadir, the U.S. again finds itself in the middle of a home affordability crisis. Millions of primarily younger and first time would be home buyers find themselves incapable of making the monthly payments required under traditional 15 or 30 year mortgages. Absent lower interest rates - which would be coupled with an increased demand for and thus price for existing homes - how are these people expected to afford a home? Until home supply rises to meet demand - which could take decades, considering how many home builders went permanently out of business during the Great Recession, what options are there?

As some have correctly pointed out, a 50 year mortgage (or even a 40 year one) is likely never to be completely paid off. However, as anyone who has ever owned a home will tell you, your goal with your first mortgage is merely to get your foot in the door within a budget you can manage. After that, you'll likely have multiple opportunities to refinance and bring down your payment or shorten the term of the loan if your budget then allows you to do so. In the interim, your wealth in terms of equity in your home is increasing. To further sweeten the deal, every penny of a homeowner's interest on their mortgage is tax deductible.

Given all of this, the question is a simple one. How, as a Party, can we now distance ourselves from 50 year loans under Trump when we embraced 40 year loans under Obama? This isn't a question of Party loyalty. It's a question of home affordability and increasing the opportunities for home ownership and the generation of wealth through equity that comes with home ownership. The alternative - leaving folks no option other than renting - is a recipe for leaving families mired, incapable of ever building wealth. That's not what the Democratic Party stands for. Quite the opposite in fact.