Real estate investor Grant Cardone is facing heavy criticism after backing the idea of 50-year mortgages.
Cardone shared on X that at a 6.15% rate, a $500,000 home loan would cost $3,011 per month on a 30-year term but $2,690 on a 50-year term—a difference of $321.
He added, “50-year mortgages are coming & so are lower interest rates.”
Widespread Criticism
The reaction online was negative. One person wrote, “What’s the interest payment Mr. Cardone you can’t possibly condone this.”
Others accused him of hiding the real cost. “Very slick of you to not include the total amount paid to the lender after the 50 year period. This is ONLY good for the lenders and businessmen like you,” one person wrote.
Another added that home prices have already doubled in recent years and that extending mortgages just traps people in debt instead of fixing the root problems.
Another person wrote: “This is an absolute joke. Those who do not learn from the Japanese mistakes are doomed to repeat it. What’s next? The 100 year mortgage ???”
Cardone followed up with another post saying, “Whether a mortgage is 30, 50 or 100 years – it’s still a mortgage on a liability. A home is NOT an investment no matter how you finance it.”
Trump Administration Proposal
The debate erupted shortly after President Donald Trump confirmed his administration is working on a plan to introduce 50-year mortgages.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said the move is aimed at improving affordability.
But many argue it will do the opposite.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) compared it to the idea that “you will own nothing and you will like it,” warning that at a 7% rate, a borrower would pay off only 1.3% of the principal after five years. He called the proposal a “recipe for default & no ability to move for better jobs or school.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she doesn’t support it either, writing, “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!”
Real estate analyst Graham Stephan pointed out that a 50-year mortgage might only let buyers afford 10 percent more home while nearly doubling their payment timeline. He warned that homeowners would build almost no equity since most sell after about 12 years.
A few voices defended the idea. Investor John Pompliano said, “The 30-year mortgage is one of the best financial products available to Americans. 50 years is even better.”
Crypto Wendy added that longer terms could offer flexibility: “It gives everyone more flexibility financially. You can pay a mortgage off early. Not sure how else to lower home costs in 2025.”
Long-Term Loans, Long-Term Consequences?
Supporters argue that 50-year mortgages could help lower monthly payments and give people more breathing room financially.
But critics say it’s a bandage on a much bigger problem, and a risky one at that. Stretching mortgage terms, they argue, just means people stay in debt longer, build little equity, and never truly get ahead.
The debate is heating up fast, and it’s touching a nerve in the ongoing fight over what affordable housing should really look like in America.
And as the discussion grows, the critics’ voices are only getting louder.