Why Your 30-Year Mortgage May Be a Good Thing

People are living longer than ever before, a phenomenon undoubtedly made necessary by the 30-year mortgage.
— Doug Larson

If columnist Doug Larson is correct, then American lifespans are about to get a lot longer because mortgages now constitute more than 70% of all U.S. consumer debt.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rules all. More than 9 out of 10 home buyers opt for one because of its predictability and lower monthly payments. Yet the US is one of only two countries in the world, along with Denmark, with widespread 30-year fixed-rate loans that offer low rates and no early repayment penalties.

While mortgages were invented to help you buy a home, today they are keeping many homeowners from selling. Moving would entail losing their current low-rate mortgages and taking out new loans at higher rates. At the time of writing, mortgage rates are typically around 6% to 7%, double the lows reached during the COVID pandemic.

If it feels like you'll never be able to pay off your mortgage, take heart. It might just be the key to your immortality.

Doug Larson was a reporter and columnist for Green Bay, Wisconsin's Press Gazette. He passed away in 2017 at 91 years old, and left behind a legacy of one-liners. Another of his best is, “While the pay for being unemployed is rather low, it’s hard to beat the hours.”

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