Trump signs executive order to reduce mortgage and housing costs

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order titled ‘Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People’ aimed at lowering the expenses associated with buying and refinancing homes.

A central feature of the order is the creation of a pilot program directed at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to automatically remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) once homeowners reach a specific equity threshold. This seeks to eliminate the manual paperwork typically required for PMI cancellation. Additionally, the order expands a nationwide program that allows for automated property title reviews, potentially reducing the high costs of traditional lender title insurance during the refinancing process.

The order also directs the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans Affairs to lower interest rates on the home loans they issue directly. To address the supply of affordable housing, the order establishes a Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation. This task force is charged with streamlining the federal approval process for factory-built and manufactured homes by reducing regulatory duplication and encouraging automated manufacturing techniques.