HILL STAFF VIEWS: 50-Year Mortgage Idea DOA With Hill Staffers

(QUICK READ) — With an average age of 27 among the 12,ooo+ congressional aides working on Capitol Hill, their assessment of the utility or advisability of the 50-year mortgage proposal floated recently by President Donald Trump is worth noting.

The average of the first-time buyer these days is 40 years, up significantly from the days in 1980s when the figure was typically in the late 20s. Both then and now, the standard mortgage is 30 years, and until recently, it was not uncommon for people to pay off their housing debt early or make effective use of equity to move upward in terms of space and conveniences.

But if the results of the recent CNCT Capitol Pulse survey of Hill aides is indicative of the likely response from 20- and 30- somethings outside of the nation’s capitol, don’t be surprised if the 50-year mortgage concept dies a quick death.

Fifty-seven percent of the aides responding agreed the 50-year mortgage would be “harmful,” compared to a mere two percent who declared their belief the idea would be “effective” in growing the ranks of first-time home buyers. That compared to 26 percent who said it would be “ineffective” and 15 percent who chose to describe the proposal as likely to be “somewhat effective.”

Half of the Republican aides marked “Harmful,” compared to 62 percent of the Democratic staffers. The idea was most popular among Senate Democratic aides at 80 percent and 75 percent among Junior Senate Democratic workers.

The percentage saying the concept would be “effective” was two percent for aides in both parties, while 18 percent of the Democrats said it would be “somewhat effective,” compared to 15 percent of the GOPers.