Would 50-year mortgages make housing more affordable?

12:00: Would 50-year mortgages make housing more affordable?

1:00: Let the games begin!

The Trump administration has been exploring the possibility of 50-year mortgages as a way of lowering home costs for Americans. Most industry professionals think it's a bad idea. The administration is also pursuing other possibilities to affect the cost for buyers. We talk about how these proposals might work, and we take an updated look at the regional housing market. In studio:

• Lanie Bittner, associate real estate broker with RE/MAX Plus
• Jason Mancuso, co-owner of the Anthony Butera Team at Keller Williams Realty
• Mark Siwiec, broker and owner of Elysian Homes by Mark Siwiec and Associates

Then in our second hour, the Special Olympics New York winter games are returning to Rochester next month, and so is a local photojournalism collaboration. RIT students are teaming up with athletes and organizers — and as we learn this hour, they are covering more than just sports. Accessible health care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is one of the nonprofit's priorities. Its Healthy Athletes event at the games helps competitors access routine screenings and other resources, while also providing an opportunity for health care professionals to learn best practices for caring for patients in the IDD community. We explore it all with our guests:

• Cori Piels, Special Olympics athlete and health messenger 
• Jess Dauvergne, director of health programs for Unified Sports at Special Olympics New York
• Furqan Alwaely, B.D.S., dental provider and faculty member at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health
• Josh Meltzer, associate professor in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at RIT 
• Natasha Kaiser, photojournalism major at RIT and former intern for WXXI News

This story is reported from WXXI's Inclusion Desk.

"Connections with Evan Dawson" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.