With 11 days until one of the most consequential midterms in recent history, President Donald Trump has filed an executive order addressing one of the leading issues this year: housing affordability.
President Donald Trump | Credit: White House
The order, Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People, includes four sections aimed at lowering mortgage origination and refinancing costs and boosting housing starts by streamlining permitting procedures. The order said the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs will execute the changes.
“The American Dream of homeownership is a vital pillar of our great country,” Trump said in the order released on Thursday. “It is the policy of my Administration to reduce regulatory barriers to mortgage origination and costs impeding homeownership; embrace innovative risk and value assessment technologies that incorporate Super Intelligence to drive down mortgage and homeownership costs; and promote competition and innovation throughout the housing and mortgage market.”
What Trump wants to change
Mortgage insurance cancellation
The first section directs the FHFA to create two pilot programs through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) costs for borrowers who meet equity and other, yet-to-be-named requirements. Private mortgage insurance applies to borrowers who put less than 20 percent down and usually costs between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of the total loan amount annually, according to a Consumer Finance Protection Bureau explainer.
The pilot programs would rely on automated valuation models (AVMs) to evaluate the single-family mortgage loans that Fannie and Freddie own, guarantee or securitize. Current borrowers wouldn’t benefit from the program; however, it applies only to borrowers who apply for mortgages after the pilot launches.
Manufactured housing task force
The second section calls for the creation of the Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, with the FHFA and HUD taking the lead. FHFA Director Bill Pulte and HUD Secretary Scott Turner have 180 days to provide a blueprint on speeding up manufactured housing starts by streamlining agency-specific inspections and certifications and removing federal regulations that have limited the availability of manufactured housing.
Per the president’s March 2026 executive order, Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction, Trump has also directed Pulte and Scott to research whether federal grant programs can standardize state and local permitting for manufactured homes.
Reducing title insurance costs
The third section directs the FHFA to turn its title acceptance pilot into an ongoing program at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The pilot lets lenders sell refinance loans to Fannie Mae without title insurance or an attorney opinion letter when a borrower meets two standards: a loan-to-value ratio below 80 percent and clear title with no prior liens or encumbrances.
However, Trump wants the FHFA to loosen the standards by extending eligibility to borrowers with loan-to-value ratios above 80 percent and waiving appraisals, income re-verification and other documentation requirements, when Fannie and Freddie’s data support it. The president also wants to reduce or eliminate loan-level price adjustments and the fees associated with them.
“President Trump continues to unlock the American Dream for American families,” Scott said on X. “This action will unleash our private sector, boost manufactured housing supply, and increase housing affordability across the country.
Cutting USDA and VA loan rates
The final section proposes reducing interest rates for borrowers using USDA or VA loans to buy single-family homes. Both departments would implement the reductions under two existing federal statutes: the USDA can issue interest-reduction credits, and the VA can provide direct housing loans for Native American veterans on trust lands.
The industry reacts
The industry’s leading associations welcomed Trump’s proposals and offered their expertise to help the president and agency leaders refine their ideas.
Shannon McGahn
“The National Association of REALTORS applauds the Administration’s continued efforts to make housing more affordable and expand access to the American dream of homeownership,” NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn said in a written statement on Friday. “President Trump’s latest Executive Order helps address the costs associated with homeownership and takes steps toward making homeownership more sustainable for American families.”
“We appreciate the President’s continued focus on this critical issue and look forward to reviewing the Administration’s proposals in greater detail,” she added. “We also look forward to working with federal policymakers to advance practical solutions that lower costs, expand housing opportunities, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership.”
National Association of Home Builders Chairman Bill Owens praised the president’s order, saying the group supports legislation that will make housing and mortgage costs more affordable.
Chris Morton | Credit: ALTA
“NAHB commends President Trump and his administration for making housing a national priority,” he said. “We urge the administration to continue its efforts to reduce regulatory burdens to make housing more affordable for all Americans.”
The Mortgage Bankers Association and Pennymac both supported Trump’s mortgage proposals, with Pennymac’s Head of Public Policy, Isaac Boltanksy, saying the group is ready to help the Administration “turn these priorities into practical, lasting improvements for consumers.”
“This order is a common-sense step toward making homeownership less costly and less complicated for borrowers,” Boltansky said. “Expanding title waivers, streamlining appraisal and documentation requirements, and easing pricing adjustments on rate-term refinances will save homeowners time and money.”
The American Land Title Association also supported the order; however, ALTA CEO Chris Morton’s statement included a warning about maintaining regulations that protect borrowers from title insurance fraud risks during the refinacing process.
“Any effort to make housing more affordable, however, must also preserve the essential consumer safeguards that protect Americans’ most valuable assets,” he said in a written statement. “Fraud is unaffordable, and the threats facing homeowners are growing … Now more than ever, we need to ensure that efforts to lower housing costs do not shift significant financial risks onto American families or the broader housing finance system.”
