President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at lowering mortgage and homeownership costs as the housing market faces severe affordability pressures, with pending home sales hitting a record low and 30-year mortgage rates remaining above 7%.
Trump Targets Mortgage Costs And Housing Supply
The order directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to launch a pilot program eliminating mortgage insurance premiums for borrowers who meet equity requirements. It also makes permanent a title-insurance waiver for eligible refinancings.
The administration also established a manufactured-housing task force and directed the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs departments to lower interest rates on certain single-family loans. The measures follow Trump’s earlier efforts to expand mortgage access and reduce regulatory burdens on home construction.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, announcing separate housing regulations Thursday, said the administration was working to “restore the path to affordable homeownership for millions of young and working families.”
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte welcomed the executive order in an X post, highlighting its efforts to reduce mortgage insurance premiums, refinancing costs and borrowing rates for eligible homeowners. “President Trump is removing unnecessary red tape and making homeownership more affordable for all Americans,” Pulte wrote, arguing that outdated mortgage processes and excessive regulations have driven up closing costs.
He also praised the administration’s push to expand factory-built housing through modern manufacturing methods, saying the measures would help restore the “American dream of homeownership.”
Record Low Home Sales Expose Affordability Crisis
Pending home sales plunged 7.3% in September, reaching their lowest level since records began in 2001. Single-family housing starts declined 4.6%, while building permits fell 4% to a 3½-year low.
Freddie Mac reported that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate eased to 7.32% from 7.40%. The National Association of Home Builders’ confidence index meanwhile fell to 29, its weakest reading since June 2012.
Vance And Housing Experts Highlight Persistent Pressures
Vice President JD Vance previously linked Trump’s interest-rate concerns to homeownership, arguing that higher borrowing costs make mortgages less affordable.
NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz warned that elevated rates and construction expenses were keeping buyers sidelined, while Chairman Bill Owens acknowledged the administration’s regulatory reforms.
Meanwhile, NAHB CEO Jim Tobin warned that mortgage rates were undermining housing affordability, even as he welcomed earlier regulatory changes.
The order directs agencies to implement relief measures but does not immediately reduce mortgage costs for every homeowner.
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