Trump signs order aimed at lowering mortgage and homeownership costs as Treasury proposes investor purchase rules

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, Oct. 22, aimed at reducing costs for homeowners by lowering mortgage insurance premiums, refinancing costs and interest rates on certain government home loans, Reuters and The Hill reported.

The order directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set up a pilot program that would proactively cancel mortgage insurance once borrowers meet equity requirements based on their home's current market value, according to the order's text published by the White House. The pilot would apply only to mortgages made after it is established, and cancellation would still depend on safety-and-soundness, contractual and legal requirements.

The order also directs the agency to expand a title insurance waiver pilot for refinancings into a permanent program, HousingWire reported. It creates a Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, co-chaired by the Housing and Urban Development secretary and the FHFA director, to promote factory-built homes eligible for federal housing programs, and it directs the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries to lower interest rates on single-family home loans their departments make, The Hill reported.

Separately, the Treasury Department issued a proposed rule to carry out the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act's ban on large institutional investors buying single-family homes, according to a Treasury press release. Beginning Jan. 7, 2027, investors with control over at least 350 single-family homes generally may not buy more, with exceptions that include build-to-rent, renovate-to-rent and homeownership programs. Public comments on the proposal are due Nov. 23.

Reuters reported that high home prices and elevated mortgage rates have put pressure on the administration to deliver relief on housing affordability.